About the founder of Hypnic Jerk Theatre

Kari has been a freelance director in the Twin Cities area for 20+ years. She coined the Hypnic Jerk name for the 2014 Minnesota Fringe Festival for which she wrote, directed, and produced a documentary theatre piece about the Minnesota roller derby community. She has directed at numerous theatres throughout the Twin Cities area including Theatre in the Round (The upcoming The Metromaniacs, Sense and Sensibility, Romeo and Juliet), Open Window Theatre (Sister Calling My Name), Lyric Arts (Good People, The Dixie Swim Club, A Laura Ingalls Wilder Christmas), Phipps Center for the Arts (Becky’s New Car), Lex-Ham Theatre (The Caucasian Chalk Circle, An Enemy of the People at the James J. Hill House) and The University of Northwestern-St. Paul (Steel Magnolias, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pride and Prejudice, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Our Town). Kari also produced and directed a European premier production for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Kari also teaches and serves as a guest director at University of Northwestern-St. Paul as an adjunct instructor in both the English and Theatre departments. With undergraduate degrees in both Theatre and English, and a Master’s degree in Education, Kari relishes directing plays that bring all of these areas together, choosing dramatic texts that hold strong literary merit and also enlighten the reader/viewer; these goals are echoed in the mission and vision Hypnic Jerk Theatre.