New York, NY
Born 1957, Spokane , Washington
In the past I have worked in such a way that I would know as soon as possible what shoes I would wear, what face, and what clothes. Let's call it a mask.
There are all these mechanisms that involve negating a negation to make it possible to have something real in the odd space that a theater is. In the case of masks, for instance, you can negate your "self" by putting the mask on, which allows you to step outside yourself and look at it. Then, by a simple but elusive method you can negate the "looker", who clearly doesn't exist separate from the mask. In this way the mask becomes flesh and blood with a consciousness that is real, or, a self, in the terms exacted by the theater.
When someone tells me to be myself I draw a total blank, but I have been interested recently in seeing how close I can get to having the mask become invisible, to see what kind of self occurs, maybe obliging Jack Smith's request, "If you have nothing to do, will you please do it on stage."
BFA from NYU
KATE VALK is a founding member of the Wooster Group, an ensemble of artists who under the direction of Elizabeth LeCompte, collaborate on the development and production of theater and media pieces.
2004 Poortheater, the Performing Garage, New York, NY
2002 To You, the Birdie! the Performing Garage, New York, NY
1999 House/Lights, the Performing Garage, New York, NY
1993 The Emperor Jones, the Performing Garage, New York, NY
1991 Brace Up! the Performing Garage, New York, NY
1987 Frank Dell's the Temptation of St. Antony, the Performing Garage, New York, NY
1984 L.S.D.(...Just the High Points...), the Performing Garage, New York, NY
2002 "Bessie" for Best Performer
1998 Village Voice "Obie" Award, Sustained Excellence in Performance
1993 Edwin Booth Award, Significant Contributions to the NYC Theater, The Wooster Group
