About Me

Karina Cowperthwaite (she/her) is a director and playwright based in Cambridge, MA. A recent graduate of Harvard College with a joint degree in English and Theater, Dance and Media, Karina is passionate about uplifting Asian American work and challenging her own definition of what Asian American theater is and can be. As Co-President of the Asian Student Arts Project (ASAP), she directed a Pan-Asian adaptation of Legally Blonde, the first musical on Harvard's campus with an all Asian cast which was featured on NBC News as well as writing, directing and acting in an original play titled Ugly Feelings at the Loeb Drama Center which was nominated for a Hoopes Prize. For her work in college, Karina was awarded the Lee Patrick Award in Drama, The David McCord Prize and Harvard College Women's Center Transformational Leadership Award. Professional credits include Dear Everything (Assistant Director Terminal 5), Romeo and Juliet (Assistant Director, American Repertory Theater) WILD: A Musical Becoming (Assistant Director, American Repertory Theater), A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical (Assistant to the Producer). Karina currently serves as the Artistic Coordinator and Special Assistant to the Artistic Director at the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University.

Education: Harvard University A.B. in English and Theater, Dance and Media (Magna Cum Laude).

Awards & Recognitions

  • Through the bequest of Thomas Wood, A.B. 1929, an annual award is given to the student who shows the best promise in the field of dramatic arts. Issued through Harvard University Department of English.

  • This prize is to honor David Thompson Watson McCord '21 and is awarded to undergraduates who have shown unusual creative talent in writing, drama, music, painting, drawing or sculpture. Issued by Harvard University.

  • The Harvard College Women's Center's Transformational Leadership Awards honor three seniors who have demonstrated transformational leadership and made a meaningful impact on fellow students, the campus, and/or the community. As a result of their excellent leadership, they have set an example that could inspire or empower women at Harvard College to assume leadership roles.