"Ask questions. Work smart." - Chatting with Hannah Kloepfer

Hannah Kloepfer is an artist that has truly been on my radar for some time now. A true Quadruple Threat, Hannah recently co-directed Emma: A Pop Musical with Taylor Louderman (Mean Girls) which streamed on Broadway on Demand. Some of Hannah's other projects include: Writing - Pitch In: The Musical, Sunday Issues, Tall Tales; Producing - Write Out Loud (w/ Taylor Louderman, Benjamin Rauhala, Sarah Glugatch, Josh Collopy). As an actor, she has performed Off-Broadway at The Snapple Theatre as well as with the Abingdon Theatre and regionally with the Niagara Regional Theater Guild just to name a few amazing credits in her inspiring career.

I really try to teach every younger artist I work with to not put all your eggs in one basket and to learn and take on as many aspects of this business as you can, and Hannah is truly the Blue Print of that mindset. It is so amazing to see how much she is shining, and she hasn't even turned the lights of her amazing career to full brightness yet. She is a true talent with a lot to offer. I am so honored and thankful to have the chance to feature Hannah Kloepfer! 

How old were you when you knew you wanted to go into the performing arts? And when did directing come into the picture? 

Oh, some combination of a first-grade production of Mary Poppins, the VHS of Bye Bye Birdie, and doing bad pirouettes on a breadboard (my “stage”) is likely to blame. I also have incredibly supportive parents. I started auditioning for regional shows in middle school, and I’m forever indebted to my dad for driving me, a giddy ensemble member, daily to a production of Fiddler on the Roof that rehearsed an hour away. 

As for directing, I’ve always enjoyed it, but *plot twist* my work has evolved to writing first and foremost. I call the new triple threat the PAW -- the producer, actor, writer, and it’s a great description of the last few years. 

I directed my first musical in college and have created a bevy of concerts and cabarets over the years, but in the last 12 months, directing has been born of teaching. We’ve encouraged a really collaborative space because we all had to learn together how to navigate this virtual theater space. 

Are there any teachers or mentors in your life who truly helped you become the great performer you are today?

Absolutely. I’m the daughter of two career teachers, so reading, questioning, and playing were always a part of our home. Being a “faculty brat” also gave me an inside look at and respect for a teacher’s life. 

My middle school drama teacher, Kate Olena, is a bit of a legendary educator in New York State. I don’t think we knew how good we had it when we were in school. She was always bringing in the most interesting, challenging, dare I say “weird” one acts to our classes, and she could (and still can) inspire even the most reluctant performer to shine. 

After graduating from college, I started working and auditioning, and I realized pretty quickly that though classical vocal training was a good foundation, it wasn’t always going to serve me in the landscape of contemporary musical theatre. Drew Gasparini introduced me to vocal coach Louis Sacco, and the rest is history. Louis brings such joy to lessons. He is an extraordinary teacher and friend; he made those first, challenging years in New York much cozier. 

Congratulations on Emma - A Pop Musical! What do you like most about directing this piece and how does it feel to create after all this time of uncertainty due to the pandemic? 

Thanks! You know, Emma is really a culmination of a year of working in this “zoomsical” format. A chance to innovate. Last March, Taylor, Nat, and I were set to workshop our original youth musical “Pitch In” at STAGES in St. Louis, but we were forced to cancel due to COVID. Then, all theaters went dark. We switched gears pretty quickly and turned our in-person workshop into a virtual workshop as an experiment. We started meeting kids from around the country and then around the world -- 13 countries and counting!-- who were missing their theater experiences and a theater community deeply. And it sort of took off! As a "zoomsical" program, we ran Pitch In independently. Then, we took it to Broadway From Home and Broadway Workshop which is where the idea for Emma was born. 

After 2 successful workshops, the Broadway Workshop Team -- Marc Tumminelli, Sarah Glugatch, and Yvette Kojic -- approached us about directing their first-ever virtual mainstage production: Emma.

The biggest challenge by far has been the editing. We had an ambitious vision for the show -- something that could be streamed and watched like a virtual movie-musical -- that required the kids to be patient, learn on-camera techniques, and set-up green screens day after day. It also required a keen video editor which we found in our friend Josh Collopy. He has chroma keyed over 700 videos the last few weeks to put 38 students from around the world in two parallel productions of Emma and built one very vibrant Highbury Prep (the setting of the show). 

Despite all of the uncertainty and separation this year required of us, I am floored by these students and this team. Everyone came ready to work hard-- and it was an undertaking more rigorous than I think anyone imagined -- but it was a beautiful thing to see theater magic live on and transcend distance during this extended intermission. 

Are there any roles, shows, or moments in your career that stick out and will always be near and dear to your heart?

I struggle to choose one thing because any one project has so many moving parts and so many people who add sparkle to the process. It’s really all about the people. 

But since we’ve been working with so many young actors this year -- some heading off to college in the fall -- I’m revisiting a lot of memories from that age. My freshman year at Columbia, I did the annual Varsity Show, a mainstage, student-written, full-length musical satirizing life on campus.

Whether you’re involved in theater or not, The Varsity Show is pretty legendary. Past writers include then-students Jeanine Tesori, Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Oscar Hammerstein! And don’t forget past cast members Greta Gerwig, Kate McKinnon, Jenny Slate, and Brandon V. Dixon! The list goes on and on, and the history creates a really fervent energy as the production grows from table read to Turkey Day (a workshop performance for alumni) to the culminating performances in spring. It’s an incredible pre-professional experience, and I’m so grateful to have been introduced to both school and New York in that way. 

What advice would you give any young aspiring artists? 

Ask questions. Work smart. Say “Yes.” Be kind. Say “No.” Drink water. Read books. Repeat. 

To learn more about Hannah Kloepfer, make sure you visit her official website at - www.hannahkloepfer.com; & to learn more about EMMA: A Pop Musical please visit www.broadwayworkshop.com/program/emma-a-pop-musical-virtual-production