Karen Ludwig (born October 9, 1942)
is an American actress, director, and teacher.
A native of San Francisco, Ludwig attended
San Francisco State College
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
for a year, then moved to New York in 1963.She continued her education at the
Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...
there. She studied with Uta Hagen and went on to direct ‘Uta Hagen’s Acting Class(2 part DVD). She performed for two years at the
Pioneer Playhouse
The Pioneer Playhouse, located in Danville, Kentucky, is the oldest outdoor theater in the state of Kentucky.
History
The Pioneer Playhouse was built by Col. Eben C. Henson who established the outdoor theater in 1950. Notable alumni actors includ ...
in
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...
.
On Broadway, Ludwig acted in ''
The Devils'' (1965), ''
The Bacchae
''The Bacchae'' (; grc-gre, Βάκχαι, ''Bakchai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. ...
'' (1980), ''
Broadway Bound
''Broadway Bound'' is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon. It is the last chapter in his Eugene trilogy, following ''Brighton Beach Memoirs'' and '' Biloxi Blues''.
Plot overview
The play is about Eugene and his older brother, Stanley, dea ...
'' (1986), and ''
Prelude to a Kiss'' (1990).
She was a member of
Andre Gregory's Manhattan Project theatrical company, performing across Europe and the United States in ''Our Late Night'' and ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...
''. Ludwig's film debut came in ''Manhattan'' where she played
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
’s lover. She also was in ‘Stanley & Iris’ with Robert deNiro & Jane Fonda, ''
That Awkward Moment
''That Awkward Moment'' (released as ''Are We Officially Dating?'' in Australia, Indonesia, and New Zealand) is a 2014 American bromantic comedy drama film written and directed by Tom Gormican in his directorial debut. The film stars Zac Efron, ...
'' and ''
Thirteen Days''. Television programs on which she acted include ''
Citizen Cohn
''Citizen Cohn'' is a 1992 cable film covering the life of Joseph McCarthy's controversial chief counsel Roy Cohn. James Woods, who starred as Cohn, was nominated for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his performance. ''Citizen Cohn'' also st ...
'', ''
ER'', ''
Judging Amy
''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...
'', ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'', and ''
Party of Five
''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...
''.
Ludwig has been the director of plays at
Circle Repertory Company The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by direc ...
, Ensemble Studio, The HB Playwright's Theater, NYU School of the Arts, and
Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading off-off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the P ...
. She also wrote and directed one-act plays at The HB Playwright's Theater and Third Stage in Stratford, Canada.
She wrote and performed in the autobiographical play ''Where Was I?'' in Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios and Joe’s Pub in 2015.
Her work behind the camera in film includes directing and writing the short film ''The Good Stuff''.
For seven years, Ludwig taught acting and directing at NYU Film School and USC School for Cinema/TV. Her other activities in education include Word of Mouth (a project in which she directed women in creating their own work)
and teaching at
Lee Strasberg Institute
The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute (originally the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute) is an acting school founded in 1969 by actor, director, and acting teacher Lee Strasberg. The Institute is located in Union Square on East 15th Street, a ...
and Weist-Barron School of Acting.
She has also led workshops on "The Power of Communication and Collaboration". She is faculty for 15 years at the
School of Drama at The New School and at
HB Studio
The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...
, both in New York.
In the late 1980s, she taught a course for female lawyers, helping them to learn to show more emotion as a way of being more effective in court sessions.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig, Karen
Living people
1942 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Actresses from San Francisco