Biography

Originally from Pittsburgh, Kyle Haden is an artistic leader, director, educator, and Equity actor. He is an Artistic Associate and the former artistic director of the Ashland New Plays Festival in Oregon. During his six-year tenure as artistic director, over a dozen new plays from ANPF went on to have premieres nationwide. Kyle also spearheaded their 2016 Women’s Invitational; one of the winning plays, Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living, won the Pulitzer Prize in 2018. Kyle is also a Senior Coordinating Producer with Black Lives, Black Words International Project, as well as a member of the 2021 cohort of artEquity’s BIPOC Leadership Circle. 

As a director, Kyle has helmed various productions across the country, including the October 2021 production of The Chief (Pittsburgh Public Theater), the award-winning world premiere of Hazardous Materials (Creede Repertory Theatre), The Realness and A Brief History of America (Hangar Theatre Company), Hamlet and The Winter’s Tale (Island Shakespeare Festival) and The Tens (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville). He was named a 2018 Drama League Directing Fellow, and is a member of the Drama League Directors Council. 

On stage, Kyle has performed at regional theaters nationwide, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (three seasons), Guthrie Theater, Shakespeare Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Arizona Theater Company, Colorado Shakespeare Festival (four seasons), Pittsburgh Public Theater, City Theatre Company, Quantum Theatre, and Cleveland Play House, as well as various theaters in New York and Chicago. 

Kyle has taught at various theater companies, including several years serving as the program manager at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Summer Seminar for High School Juniors. He previously held tenure-track appointments at Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts and Southern Oregon University. Kyle is currently an Assistant Professor of Acting at Carnegie Mellon University, where he also serves as the Senior Associate Head of the School of Drama.

BA: Wake Forest University, MFA: Columbia University.