KATE BECK

ACTRESS / PLAYWRIGHT / PRODUCER

After wandering onto the stage from the audience and standing with the actors as a 3 year old in the middle of her kindy play, Kate Beck soon realised acting has always been in not just her blood, but her heart and soul.  Kate got her first real taste of performing in a Girl Guide production of “The Sins of Cinderella”, playing both the Ugly Stepsisters.  (Yes, both!)

She studied drama throughout high school and performed in school musicals such as “Annie” and “Grease”.  Following school she joined the character waitress crew at Brisbane theatre restaurant, Crazies Comedy Box, playing characters such as Anna Kobanna and Jungle Bunny, and worked part-time as a corporate entertainer, including a “Friends” launch for Channel 9.

Kate studied acting with “Cop Shop” actor John Orcsik at The Australian Film and Television Academy and started auditioning for the Brisbane theatre scene.  She performed with theatre companies including Brisbane Arts Theatre and Front Row Theatre Company in shows such as “Caravan”, “Fridge” and “Secret Bridesmaids Business”.

Kate also acted in various films, music film clips and TV commercials for The Paralympic Committee and Panasonic.  She played Audrey Parks in Cornhill Productions short film, “Who’s Who” and a homicide detective in the feature film “Jack Kain”.

Intrigued by what lay on the “other side” of the stage, 2003 saw Kate venturing into other areas of theatre, and traveled to Sydney to work as Production Manager for Crossbow Productions “Mary of Scotland” and later as Publicist for “Measure For Measure” and “Anne of The Thousand Days” which was performed at the Brisbane Powerhouse.  Kate has done voice over work and hosted radio programs “Uncovered” and “12 Red Shirts”, as well as MC’d for events such as Queensland’s Animal Wellness Day.

Kate created production company, Golden Glove Productions, in 2003, and has been playing the festival scene since.  She played the popular clothes-swapping role of Martine in Michael Olsen’s “Two Women & A Chair”, and went on to produce this and 6 other short plays under the name of “Believe” in the corner of Brisbane’s theatre bookshop, “Book Nook”.

Kate was named Theatre Personality of the Year for Queensland for ACT (QLD) in 2004.  In 2009 she was selected as a Young Person Creating Queensland for inclusion into a book produced by Youth Arts Queensland.

In 2007 Kate scored a role in TV Drama, “Takoyaki City”, playing the role of teenage single mum Kerri-Anne Smart, which aired on MTV in January 2008.

Through Golden Glove Productions, Kate has continued to write, and to date has produced eight of her nine original One Act Plays.  Touring throughout the South East Queensland Drama Festival Circuit, Kate and her plays have won over 100 awards, including Best Actress and Best Original Script.  Kate’s first comedy, “Level 12”, won a staggering 23 awards throughout its premiere season in 2008.

2009 saw 5 productions of Kate's plays performed across South East Queensland and Norfolk Island by various theatre groups.  In 2011 she performed as the delightful Abcde in her new play "Punch", which won 27 awards.  In 2012 she took on the opposite role of "M" in a revived version of "Level 12".

She is currently playing the role of Blondie Bush in her brand new comedy, "Lights, Camera, Spandex!", touring South East Queensland throughout 2013.

In 2012 her scripts "Level 12" and "Punch" got accepted for publishing through Moore Books.

Kate says: “To be an actor, you get to immerse yourself into the myriad of worlds that can be so unlike your own, and as a playwright, you get to create them.”

Kate’s chooses to create stories or emotions which could be real to any member of the audience.

“I feel theatre is, among many other things, an opportunity to escape from real life.  I love when I can get on stage and play a punk tribeswoman for a couple of hours, or when I go and see a show and can elude from my own thoughts of the day.  Theatre can be an escape for both actors and audiences alike, and I want to make people feel.  I want audiences to forget about the stresses of work and feel calm and inspired after watching a feel good drama.  I want them to laugh until tears stain their faces after watching a riotous comedy.  I want them to feel these emotions, whatever they may be, and allow them to think, care, be inspired, be aware, or just simply, to smile.  I want my audiences to feel- and I want to entertain.”

Kate is determined to make people feel through the arts and use her dream to act to help the world act their dream.