Katya Stanislavskaya

As a musical theater educator, I am passionate about giving my students a solid foundation in musicianship and history, as a stepping stone to originating roles in new works.

Katya Stanislavskaya joined Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2023. She is a musical theater composer, lyricist, music director, and educator who teaches musical theater performance, history, musicianship, and songwriting courses. 

Stanislavskaya won the Weston New Musical Award (2015) for her immigration-themed musical Resident Alien, and received a Drescher leave award from SUNY-New Paltz (2021) for her musical The Useful Citizen. She is a two-time MacDowell Fellow, a Thornton Wilder Fellow, and a Dramatists Guild Fellow, and has held residencies at the Catwalk Institute and the Johnny Mercer Foundation/Goodspeed Writers Grove. Her work has been performed at New York City venues including Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Merkin Hall, Joe’s Pub, Ars Nova, and Symphony Space, as well as regionally across the U.S. and internationally in Canada and South Africa. 

Stanislavskaya’s cabaret songs and larger works have been performed by Broadway actors, including Alex Brightman, Darlesia Cearcy, Malcolm Gets, Amy Justman, Anika Larsen, Grace McLean, Pearl Sun, Taylor Trensch, Wes Taylor, and Karen Ziemba. As music director, she has worked with Prospect Theater (off-Broadway), ACT of Connecticut, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Barrington Stage, Arden Theater, and more. Prior to Boston Conservatory at Berklee, she was assistant professor of musical theater at SUNY-New Paltz and musical theater program director at Western Carolina University. 

Stanislavskaya holds an M.F.A. from New York University’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and an M.M. in collaborative piano from Temple University, where she also received a B.M. in piano pedagogy. She is a longtime member of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, where she received the Harrington Award for Creative Achievement. Her work has been showcased in masterclasses with Lynn Ahrens, David Yazbek, Sarna Lapine, Glenn Slater, and Alan Menken.

Stanislavskaya lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with her husband, son, and beagle.

Awards and Recognition: 

Thornton Wilder Fellowship (2021)
The Nuala Drescher Creative Project Leave, State University of New York (2021)
MacDowell Fellowship (2011, 2021)
Weston New Musical Award (2015)
Harrington Award for Creative Achievement, BMI (2014)

Recent Notable Work: 

Batboy (SUNY New Paltz, 2023)—Music Director
The Useful Citizen (Gainesville Theatre Alliance, 2022)—Composer, Lyricist, Music Director
Songs for a New World (SUNY-New Paltz, 2022)—Music Director
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (ACT of Connecticut, 2019)—Music Director
The Flood in Concert (Prospect Theater, 2018)—Music Director