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KAJA DUNN

Kaja Dunn is an an intimacy professional, director, actor, and activist as well as an Associate Professor of Anti-Racist and Culturally Competent Theatre at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama.

 

 

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Kaja Dunn, is an intimacy professional, and associate professor of Anti Racist and Culturally Competent Theatre at Carnegie Mellon University as well as associate faculty at Theatrical Intimacy Education. Kaja is a member of SAG-AFTRA and an actor, director, and activist with performances in over 40 productions in 5 countries including Theatrical Outfit, Playmakers Rep, Moxie Theatre and others. Current favorite intimacy work includes American Prophet (Arena Stage), Choir Boy (Denver Center and ACT Seattle) Harlem (Amazon), Strange Loop (Broadway, associate Intimacy Director), The Best Man, The Final Chapter (Peacock). She is a recipient of the Kennedy Center’s National Medallion for her work on theatre and race. She has published in several journals about race and theatre, intimacy and co-authored a chapter in Arden Research Companion to Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance.

She has presented on issues of Equity and Diversity and theatre for theatre's and universities, Actor’s Equity Association as their racial consultant, The Women’s Theatre Festival, Blumenthal Performing Arts, MICHA, North Carolina Theatre Association (Keynote Panelist), Children’s Theatre Charlotte, Anti-Racism and Decolonization at University of London Goldsmiths, SETC and SETC Theatre Symposium, KCATF and The Association of Theatre in Higher Education, among other places. She is on the Executive Board of the Black Theatre Network and a former executive member of Black Theatre Association. She was recently interviewed in American Theatre Magazine around issues of Race and Theatre education. She is a proud mother to three amazing kiddos. You can find out more at her website kajadunn.com.

 

 

Intimacy Directing for Theatre Book Release: Reading Number One 
Intimacy Directing For Theatre Book Release Event Logo.
Video

Intimacy Directing for Theatre Book Release: Reading Number One 

Celebrate the Release of the First Textbook to Address Intimacy and Consent Work in our Theatre Classrooms.

Wednesday 21 Februrary 2024
United States
Daughters of Lorraine Podcast teaser.
Staging Black Intimacies
Podcast

Staging Black Intimacies

4 October 2023

Hosts Jordan Ealey and Leticia Ridley interview Kaja Dunn, who is an intimacy professional, director, actor, and scholar. They discuss her journey as a theatre artist, the importance of intimacy coordinator for theatre and television, and Kaja’s own artistry and creativity.

Actors working together during rehearsal.
Making Our Own Table: Defining Black Intimacy Practice
Essay

Making Our Own Table: Defining Black Intimacy Practice

A Conversation with Kaja Dunn

25 August 2022

Ann James interviews Kaja Dunn, who works both as an intimacy specialist and a scholar of race and choreography, about her decade-long path through the intimacy industry. They discuss the way to bring intimacy professionals into a production process, the importance of citing Black women’s contributions to the field, and the need diversify who is telling stories on our stages.

Parent Artists & the Pandemic
Event

Parent Artists & the Pandemic

Kaja Dunn holding one of her sons
Taking a Pause in Response to a COVID-19 World
Essay

Taking a Pause in Response to a COVID-19 World

8 April 2020

Kaja Dunn reflects on how quickly the world turned upside down with COVID-19 and offers a simple idea before rushing into to creating new work: take a breath and allow for a moment to process all that is happening.