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About
I'm Katie - a working professional actor, vocalist and teaching artist based in New York City with more than twenty years of experience onstage and off. I have a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University, have trained at Shakespeare's Globe and Shakespeare & Company, and continue to study voice (classical technique foundation) with Ruth Hennessy and the realistic school of acting with John Strasberg.
As performers, our greatest gift to give an audience is our Selves. We are each a unique portal, with our personal life experiences and perspectives that no one else has.
Through voice, speech & acting training, I help students connect more fully with their own innate sense of truth - what they already know about Life, what they really think and feel - in order to share that more fully with others. When we open to this personal sense of truth and infuse it into our work, it becomes the dynamic, exciting stuff of the greatest performances.
If you...
Are looking for more freedom and ease in your singing or speech
Want to fully immerse in the material you perform
Grapple with performance anxiety or stage fright
Feel tense or "locked up" when you speak or sing
Just know you have something deeper to express
Let's explore working together.
***
"Find Your Light" is something actors might hear when we step onstage during technical rehearsals just before a show opens. On the set for the first time, we get used to the feeling of the light on our face that lets us know we're in the sweet spot of being fully seen. To me, Find Your Light Studio is about connecting with our inner light, the little flame inside each of us that never goes out and never guides us astray, the place where our best performances are born.
Overview
Hired 12 times
Background checked
1 employee
21 years in business
Business hours
SunClosedMon10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Payment methods
This pro accepts payments via Apple Pay, Cash, PayPal, Venmo, and Zelle.
Top Pros are among the highest-rated, most popular professionals on Thumbtack.
2024
Services offered
Acting venue(s)
Theater
Musical theater
Not applicable; lessons are for personal interest
Level of experience
No experience
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Acting goal(s)
To prepare for an audition
To build confidence
To explore as a hobby
To continue professional development
Projects and media
Projects and media
Reviews
Customers rated this pro highly for work quality, professionalism, and value.
Exceptional 5.0
10 reviews
5
100%
4
0%
3
0%
2
0%
1
0%
Your trust means everything to us. Learn about our review guidelines.
Read reviews that mention:
Samantha M.
Jul 31, 2024
•
Hired on Thumbtack
Katie is an amazing teacher that really works at fine-tuning your skills! She provided me with some exercises to work with on my own and I feel like they've helped me perfect my technique--not only with how my voice sounds, but other parts of my body and mental psyche that also factor into how I perform. She's been great to work with!
Details: 26 - 44 years old • No, the student cannot read music • No formal training; some self-taught experience • Musical theater • What the teacher recommends • 45 minutes • At the pro’s location • My home, venue, etc. • Remotely (phone or internet)
Singing Lessons
Allison M.
Jun 11, 2024
•
Hired on Thumbtack
My actinglesson was super helpful, especially in reminding me to trust myself. Thank you!!
Details: 26 - 44 years old • Beginner • To prepare for an audition • To build confidence • To explore as a hobby • Theater • What the teacher recommends • No specific focus • 1 person • At the pro’s location • My home, venue, etc. • Remotely (phone or internet)
Acting Lessons
Nora G.
Jul 28, 2017
•
Hired on Thumbtack
Working with Katie is an extremely enriching experience and I am enjoying it very much. She is knowledgeable, reflective, open to the needs of an unorthodox Shakespeare lover like me, willing to share. She is attentive, creative, a great coach/teacher/listener/guide!
Acting Lessons
Gabrielle R.
May 21, 2021
Katie is a wonderful and kind teacher as well as a wonderful person! She really helps you bring out your best on stage and I am very grateful I found her.
Lise J.
Jul 29, 2019
•
Hired on Thumbtack
Katie was so responsive and upbeat! I am really excited to be working with her to accomplish my short and long-term goals! She’s amazing!!!
Details: 45 - 64 years old • No, the student cannot read music • No formal training • What the teacher recommends • 45 minutes • Remotely (phone or internet)
Singing Lessons
Credentials
Background Check
Katherine Zaffrann
FAQs
What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
Students can choose to pay one lesson at a time or in packages of 5 or 10 lessons. Packages receive a discount (5% off for 5; 10% off for 10 which is one lesson free) and can be paid in installments. They also come with bonuses like a personalized warm-up recording or a guided visualization. Because the nature of this work is ongoing - we don't learn optimal vocal technique in just one lesson! - students get the most benefit out of a package when we both know we are committing to this work together.
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
I begin by listening to the student to learn where they are coming from, what their goals are, what they dream of. What led them to look for a teacher, and where do they want to go? Through these conversations I can find out how to serve them best - which exercises, which material - and start our work together.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
In addition to over twenty years' experience as a professional actor and singer, I have a BFA in Musical Theater from Syracuse University, where I was the recipient of the Edward Greer Award for Classic Acting. While at SU I studied abroad at Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and subsequently trained intensively at Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox, MA.
My acting training continues today at John Strasberg Studios in NYC, working in the realistic school of method acting.
My musical background began with piano lessons throughout childhood and voice lessons since I was a teenager. I have taken sight-singing and ear training courses and continue to study privately with Ruth Williams Hennessy of Hennessy Breath and Bodywork.
Additionally, I am a Usui Reiki Level 2 Certified practitioner and am training to become a certified Mindfulness Meditation teacher. While I generally do not practice energy work directly in my studio, I find that having sensitivity to what might be going on beneath the surface serves both me and my students well.
