Katy Pfaffl
Katy Pfaffl is a Broadway-trained performer and holistic voice teacher whose career bridges professional musical theater performance and long-term artist development. A musical theater graduate of the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM), she originated the role of ‘Song Woman’ in the Tony Award-winning Broadway production of War Horse at Lincoln Center. Her Broadway career informs a teaching practice rooted in embodied technique, storytelling, and sustainable performance, shaped by the real demands of professional theater.
For over 25 years, Katy has been a trusted voice teacher and performance coach within the Broadway community, working with actors across more than sixty Broadway productions and national tours. Her students include Academy Award nominee Stephanie Hsu, Tony Award winner Matt Doyle, and performers from shows such as Hamilton, Hadestown, Wicked, Moulin Rouge, Merrily We Roll Along, The Great Gatsby, and many others. Known for her holistic approach, Katy helps artists build confidence and consistency by developing a clear, responsive relationship with their body and voice, emphasizing health, longevity, and individuality alongside technical mastery.
In addition to her private studio, Katy regularly leads masterclasses and intensive programs at institutions including The Juilliard School, the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, American University, Middlebury College, and Broadway Dance Center Pro Semester in New York City, as well as internationally across Japan, India, South Africa, Haiti, China, Italy, and Turkey. She is also the co-founder and board president of Broadway for Arts Education, a nonprofit organization that partners with the Broadway community to expand access to high-quality arts education for underserved youth in the United States and globally. Through both her teaching and performance legacy, Katy is dedicated to training artists to thrive as grounded, expressive, and resilient human beings.
Katy joined the School of Performing Arts as a guest artist in April of 2026 to lead a three day vocal intensive workshop for our musical theatre students. Our students were challenged to work in what she called the 'orange', or also known as the uncomfortable, to allow themselves to be vulnerable so that they could grow. Each student got the opportunity for a private one on one lesson with Katy where they worked on over coming personal challenges. They also got advice on how to create a strong audition. It was a great experience for our students to not only grow as performers, but as people.
