Kaitlin Hopkins is an award-winning actress, director, and educator and has worked in theater, film and television for over 30 years. In 2009 she created the BFA Musical Theatre program at Texas State University, recently named one of the top 10 musical theatre programs in the nation. As an entrepreneur, she is the Co-Founder of Living Mental Wellness, which is a holistic evidence-based company that offers educational programs to enhance mental wellness for performing artists through an integrated scientific life skills model. In addition, Hopkins is the proud creator and president of Fontus Green Apple Dry Throat Lozenges, in partnership with Ocu-soft, a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical company. Fontus is the official lozenge of Hamilton the musical, and many other Broadway shows and national touring companies, and is the lozenge of choice for many performing artists including Kristin Chenoweth, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson and Julie Andrews.
 
As an educator, she received the 2016 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching from Texas State University and was recognized by Broadway Dreams Foundation as an innovative voice in education, and one of the 6 top women educators in the performing arts. In 2012, in collaboration with the ProJazz Institute Hopkins created and launched the first musical theater-training program in Chile. Her recent TEDx Talk on the importance of mental wellness education for students, along with her research and curriculum-based mental wellness training program for performing artists at Texas State has garnered international attention.
 
As an actress her Broadway credits include: Noises Off, Anything Goes with Patti LuPone and originating the role of “Mama Who” in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Hopkins has a half dozen cast album credits to her name and has originated multiple roles off-Broadway including: Bat Boy-the Musical for which she received a Drama Desk and Ovation award nominations, Bare: A Pop Opera, The Great American Trailer Park Musical, and Nicky Silver’s Beautiful Child. National tours include originating the roles of “Diane” in Disney’s On The Record, and “Margorie” in Dirty Dancing, and originating the role of “Tiffany” in the international tour of the John Adam opera I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky directed by Peter Sellars.
 
Hopkins has appeared in over 50 television shows including Star Trek- Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, JAG, Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Law and Order CI, Rescue Me, Spin City and three years on Another World as Dr. Kelsey Harrison. She has appeared in 11 feature films including The Nanny Diaries, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles and How To Kill Your Neighbor’s Dog with Kenneth Branagh.
 
As a director, writer, producer her production of The World According to Snoopy, which made its world premiere at Texas State, and its regional premiers at Theatre Under The Stars, and Theatre Aspen, has been licensed by Tams Witmark . Other producing credits include producing radio plays and musicals for LA Theatre Works-The Plays the Thing Series and for The Pet Shop (Animal Planet Network) hosted by comedian Andy Kindler. As a director, favorite credits include: The Boch and Harnick Revue To Life!, which she co-conceived with Tony award winner Robert L. Freedman, The Two Orphans by Theresa Rebeck, and Collision Course by Jim Price (The Lark Play Development Center, NY). She is a member of the Playwright and Director's Workshop at The Actors Studio in New York. Kaitlin’s directing credits at Texas State University include: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, RENT, Anything Goes, Urinetown, Hair, All Shook Up, Oklahoma!, The Wild Party, A Little Princess (world premiere), and Bat Boy-The Musical. Her productions at Texas State have been recognized with numerous awards by the Austin Critics' Table Awards.
 
In this episode, NYC-based actress and host Maggie Bera chats with Kaitlin about how COVID-19 will impact the futu