Kyle Haden

Kyle Haden is an artistic leader, director, educator, and actor. He is the former Artistic Director of the Ashland New Plays Festival in Oregon, where during his six-year tenure more than a dozen plays developed at the festival went on to premiere nationwide. He also spearheaded the festival’s 2016 Women’s Invitational; one of the winning plays, Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living, went on to win the 2018 Pulitzer Prize. Haden currently serves as Artistic Producer of ColLABo, a production development incubator at Carnegie Mellon University’s Center for New Work Development.

As a director, Haden has helmed various world premieres of productions across the country,including Parental Advisory: a breakbeat play (Milwaukee Repertory Theater), The Devil is a Lie (Quantum Theater), and the award-winning Hazardous Materials (Creede Repertory Theatre). He was named a 2018 Drama League Directing Fellow and is a member of the Drama League Directors Council. Haden is currently developing MKE MVP for Milwaukee Rep, slated to open in January 2026.

On stage, Haden 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, Pittsburgh Public Theater, City Theatre Company, Quantum Theatre, and Cleveland Play House, as well as various theaters in New York and Chicago. He was recently named the winner of the 2024 Berkshire Theatre Critics Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play for playing Bert in Barrington Stage Company’s production of Primary Trust. Haden also appeared in Amazon’s American Rust and is the voice of Luke in the award-winning animated short film Where the Deer Sleep.

Haden has taught at various theater companies and universities. He is currently an Associate Professor of Acting at Carnegie Mellon University, where he also serves as Senior Associate Head of the School of Drama.

BA: Wake Forest University, MFA: Columbia University.