Today we’d like to introduce you to Kara Hettinger.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After receiving a theatre degree at Loyola University of Chicago, I returned home to KC for a summer internship at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. I assumed I would return to Chicago to pursue a career in Directing and Stage Management but instead I remained in Kansas City to begin another internship at the Unicorn Theatre. As each opportunity ended I managed to find another one to pursue and after a few years I began graduate school for Theatre History at UMKC. During this time I had begun work as a Teaching Artist for several area Theatres, leading summer camps, afterschool classes and eventually in-school workshops and residencies. This work combined my love of theatre with my passion for working with young people and when the Education Director position at HASF became open, I leapt at the chance. After six years at HASF, I became the Education Director at Kansas City Young Audiences. I loved my time at KCYA, I got to work along side many wonderful teaching artists and helped shape new initiatives and create new programs. In 2018, I was offered the position of Program Director for Arts Education at the Midwest Trust Center on the campus of Johnson County Community College, which is where I remain today.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Early in my career I was juggling graduate school, working as a preschool teacher, and had multiple teaching artist gigs all while continuing to pursue directing and stage management professionally. I remember regularly going 60 plus days without a day off. Working as an independent contractor can be “feast or famine” so I took every job I was offered knowing there would be slower periods with less income. Moving into Arts Administration gave me personal financial security but the non-profit arts sector involves a lot of fundraising and you have to constantly reinvent your strategies and adjust programming when grants do or don’t come through. The Covid shutdown was also a bumpy time, not being able to gather in large public spaces brought our industry to a halt and we were suddenly faced with doing virtual programming or nothing at all. After years of convincing people that live performance was essential and that it could not be replaced by television, we were suddenly embracing streaming our events so that we would still be able to reach our audiences. We are seeing our numbers return to pre pandemic levels and yet more challenges are ahead as Arts Organizations face significant cuts to their federal and state funding.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am currently at a point in my life /career where finding ways to remember and explore my personal artistry has become essential. After a long career in Arts Administration, I found myself losing touch with the “why” of it all. Covid gave me a lot of time to reflect and since that time I have been actively seeking out opportunities to return to the classroom as a Teaching Artist and Director. In my time away from work I have also been exploring visual art as a creative outlet and stress reducer.
Early in my career I founded my own Theatre Company, Princess Squid Productions. With that company I created and directed several new works and I still look back on that time as the most artistically fulfilling period of my career. The part of me that loves teaching just as much as I love creating, looks back on my time at the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival and the work that I did with their teen program, Team Shakespeare, as equally impactful. Nearly twenty years after that program was created, it is still going strong and I am proud to have played a small part in that. At KCYA, I grew their Community School of the Arts programming with onsite classes, camps and performances and was given the opportunity to direct youth performances twice each year. The youth I worked with over those six years gave me more joy than I thought was possible while at work. I still feel honored when a young adult approaches me out in the world and tells me I played some small part of who they grew up to be.
Currently, my position as Program Director for Arts Education at the Midwest Trust Center, has given me so many opportunities to grow as an Administrator and as a human being. My team puts a lot of trust in me to curate and implement a robust offering of youth performances, workshops, artist outreach and professional development. I find the process of identifying and supporting artists to be extremely rewarding and knowing that what the kids and families are experiencing came from my careful planning the year prior, brings a smile to my face every time.
What makes you happy?
I just celebrated my first anniversary with my amazing husband and I am unbelievably lucky to be the mom of two fabulous teenage girls. They give me so much joy and I can’t believe the time that they will be at home is disappearing so quickly. My personal life is filled with happiness because of the people I get to share it with. Professionally, I find so much satisfaction from working with young people. Seeing a student light up when they finally nail that moment in a scene or the laughter that erupts from them while playing an improv game, there is nothing quite like it.
Pricing:
- Field Trip shows: Tickets start at $5
- Family shows: tickets start at $10
Contact Info:
