Our Team
Cassie abate
Cassie Abate is the Associate Artist Director at Zach Theater in Austin. She formally served as Co-Head of the Musical Theatre Program at Texas State University. Cassie has spent the last 20 years working as a performer, director and choreographer in New York and at theatres throughout the country including Arena Stage, Barrington Stage, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, ZACH Theatre, and North Shore Music Theatre. Cassie received a BFA in Musical Theatre from The University of Miami and an MFA in Musical Theatre from San Diego State University. Cassie is the author of the international textbook The Art and Practice of Musical Theatre Choreography.
Kaitlin hopkins
Kaitlin Hopkins is an award-winning actress, director, producer, and educator and has performed on and off Broadway, on national and international tours, and in film and television for more than 30 years. In 2009, she created the BFA musical theatre program at Texas State University and served as head of the program for 14 years. Hopkins works as an arts consultant worldwide and is the proud creator and CEO of Fontus Dry Mouth Lozenges. Hopkins has pioneered groundbreaking research on mental wellness for performing artists and athletes and co-founded Living Mental Wellness, a holistic, evidence-based company that offers educational programs to enhance mental wellness through an integrated scientific life skills model.
Why US
We have spent the past 15 years creating a foundation of work that facilitates innovative techniques and methods centering wellness, equity, and resilience as essential pillars of performing arts education. In our experiences working with diverse demographics, we have found it essential to create a shared vocabulary, and to hold space for people to share who they are, what we expect from each other, and how we will articulate our experiences together. It has been our mission to turn theoretical discussions of change into actual accessible tools and practices that can be immediately implemented in any work environment.
