Spend just a few minutes with Performing Arts Department Chair Karina Gershowitz, and you’ll experience the energy she has to juggle all of her roles! Along with Landon duties, Karina is a mom to two young boys and a working actor.  

Raised near London, Gershowitz’s first professional gig was at 16, and she has studied and performed ever since. Inspired by her mother’s career as a teacher, Gershowitz also taught periodically to supplement her acting. An invitation to be a drama counselor at Camp Tall Timbers brought her to West Virginia, and she came to Maryland to teach at Holy Child before joining Landon in 2017.  

While teaching is her priority, Gershowitz makes time after school and on weekends to perform in local theater. “I want to stay relevant and share with students the ever-evolving realities of our field,” she explains. Gershowitz also cultivates a network she leverages for Landon productions, including choreographers and designers whom she recruited to assist with the Landon and Holton-Arms spring production of Puffs. 

Karina’s latest role was in Synetic Theater’s holiday production of Cinderella. She received a Helen Hayes award nomination in 2015 for her role in Theater Alliance’s The Wonderful World of Dissocia, is a former Monologue Madness champion and tournament judge, and continues to perform as much as her schedule allows.