Kim Coates & KAZAN CO-OP!
Halifax will get “up close and personal” with actor Kim
Coates at a fundraiser for the non-profit theatre company, KAZAN CO-OP, on Saturday, April 6th
Originally from Saskatoon, Coates has been in over 50 plays
and 30 films. He is most recently known for his role as Tig Trager, the most
disturbingly violent member of the motorcycle gang featured in the TV series Sons
of Anarchy. “It’s so funny
because Kim plays such violent guys, but he’s a sweetheart,” says co-founder of KAZAN, Kathryn MacLellan, who will be interviewing Coates in the style of Inside
the Actors Studio at the event.
Coates and MacLellan first met playing Action
and Graziella in Neptune Theatre’s production of West Side Story (1983) when
they were partnered up in dance scenes. MacLellan says that working together
was a “blast” and that the physical and vocal warm-ups were particularly
hilarious. “I really remember Kim had to sing Gee, Officer Krupke (♪Dear kindly Sergeant Krupke/You gotta understand♪). So every night before the show, we’d run through our dance
lifts. Then, when we were done, I’d hear him singing ‘♪DEAR…DEAR… DEAR…DEAR….DEAR♪,’” MacLellan laughs while imitating a focused Coates belting out
notes all over his range.
The next year, MacLellan and Coates also starred together in
Neptune’s production of Cabaret, and have remained friends ever since. So
when MacLellan asked Coates to participate in the benefit event for KAZAN, he
enthusiastically agreed.
MacLellan and her sister Janet created KAZAN in 2011 with
the goal of “producing live, contemporary theatre”. “Our tag, which is what I
feel is so important about the theatre, is Be in the Room,” says
MacLellan, who emphasizes that this intimate, face-to-face contact between
actors and audience, and the bond that’s created between the creative and
design teams, is so vital, especially as the world becomes more tech-driven and
virtually connected.
The sisters’ vision for their theatre company encompasses
both their passions: aesthetic/technical design (Janet is an established
costume designer with numerous theatrical credits to her name) and compelling
performances characterized by a “Brando-esque, naturalistic style of trying to
get to the emotional core,” describes MacLellan. She herself has worn many
successful hats, from studying method acting and group theatre at Strasberg,
nationally touring with the Don Messer Jubilee, and competing as both a
figure skater and ballroom dancer to her numerous stage, television and film
credits as an actor (including Meet the Navy, A Beautiful View, A
Stones Throw, The Crucible and The Girl in the Goldfish Bowl) and as a choreographer,
director and producer.
In 2012, KAZAN produced two Daniel MacIvor plays, Communion
(directed by Linda Moore and programmed by George Pothitos for Neptune’s
Studio season) and I, Animal (directed by Richie Wilcox, making its
debut at the Super Nova Theatre Festival). Both productions had successful
runs, having garnered eight Robert Merritt Award nominations and winning three
of these Monday night (March 25, 2013). Ingrid Risk won “Outstanding Lighting
Design” for I, Animal; Stephanie MacDonald won “Outstanding Performance
by an Actress in a Supporting Role” and Daniel MacIvor won “Outstanding New Play by a Nova Scotian
Playwright” for Communion.
KAZAN also brought both plays to Ontario last year. I, Animal was featured at SummerWorks in Toronto, where it was named among the festival’s top 10 plays and actors Antonio Cayonne and Stewart Legere received rave reviews.
Peter Hinton programmed Communion
for the National Arts Centre studio
season in Ottawa. “Daniel [MacIvor] had performed there, he had passed through
there, but he had never been programmed within a NAC season,” says MacLellan.
“So we felt very proud of that fact and he was acknowledged by Peter on opening
night and we were all a little teary-eyed. We were really happy that
Janet and I could bring this work to the NAC, our national theatre, because of how
brilliant Daniel is.”
KAZAN will be announcing its plans for a third production at
the “Up Close and Personal with Kim Coates” event. John Dunsworth (who was also
in that same West Side Story production) will be at the fundraiser probing
Coates with the Proust Questionnaire. After the talk show, an after-party will
be held on site, featuring a DJ and dancing, drinks, good eats from the Nomad
food truck and funny man Bill Carr will be hosting a live auction. ~ Story by Michelle Brunet
Event Details:
Saturday, April 6, 8PMSpatz Theatre, Halifax (1855 Trollope Street)
Tickets: VIPs sold out; Regular Tickets ($45) can be purchased at etixnow.com/kazan
