Kathy Randels

New Orleanian, theatre artist/educator, and the Artistic Director of ArtSpot Productions, Kathy studied, lived and worked in Chicago from 1987-1994, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Performance Studies in 1991 from Northwestern University. Upon returning to New Orleans in January 1995, she founded ArtSpot Productions. A performance artist who writes and produces her own work, she founded the Drama Club at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women in 1996 with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

In March 2001, she directed Gifts of Our Ancestors with African dancer and choreographer Ausettua AmorAmenkum for the LCIW Drama Club. In October 2001 she premiered a large-scale performance piece entitled Rumours of War at the Contemporary Arts Center. With funding from The Fund for U.S. Artists at International Festivals and Exhibitions, Rumours of War was featured at Magdalena Pacifica in September 2002, an International Festival of Women in Theatre in Cali, Colombia. In 2003, Kathy won an OBIE award for her work with Katie Pearl and playwright Lisa D'Amour in Nita & Zita, which premiered in New Orleans in May 2002 and toured the U.S. in the spring of 2003. She co-founded The Graduates with AmorAmenkum in 2012. Learn more at artspotproductions.org