Karen Kohlhaas is a theater director, filmmaker, teacher and author. She is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company, and a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School.

She recently directed the Off-Broadway world premiere of Annie Baker's play BODY AWARENESS for Atlantic, and also directed actress/comedienne Judy Gold in the Drama Desk Award nominated one woman show 25 QUESTIONS FOR A JEWISH MOTHER by Kate Moira Ryan and Ms. Gold which played at the Montreal Comedy Festival, Ars Nova in NYC, ran 6 months Off-Broadway at the St. Luke's Theatre, and is now on a national tour. Other Off-Broadway and regional productions include Harold Pinter's THE HOTHOUSE (Atlantic), Keith Reddin’s SYNERGY (Alley Theatre, world premiere) and FRAME 312 (Atlantic, NY premiere); David Mamet's BOSTON MARRIAGE (New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, NY premiere) and THE WATER ENGINE (Atlantic); three productions of AN ADULT EVENING OF SHEL SILVERSTEIN in New York and Sydney; and Kate Moira Ryan's OTMA (U.S. premiere). She has also directed at Naked Angels, New Dramatists, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and other New York theaters.

Karen's short films have played at the Silverlake, Galway, and Crossroads film festivals, and include THE PALACE OF THE END and IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING featuring Taylor Mac, and The Babies Got the Blues co-directed with Rachel Hamilton.

Karen teaches at the Atlantic Acting School's NYU/Tisch undergraduate studio and full time Conservatory programs, and also teaches her own Directing, Monologue, and Fearless Cold Reading & Audition Technique workshops.

Her new book is How to Choose a Monologue for Any Audition, and she is the author of The Monologue Audition: A Practical Guide for Actors (Foreword by David Mamet), and the Monologue Audition Teacher's Manual. She is the director, writer and co-producer of The Monologue Audition Video (DVD), a 120-minute instructional DVD about her innovative monologue audition technique that shows actors how to direct, act, and audition with monologues.