Karl Backus
Karl Backus | |
|---|---|
| Born | Karl Laurence Backus 1963 or 1964 (age 59–60)[1] |
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Known for | Oregon Shakespeare Festival |
| Notable credits | |
| Spouse |
Summer King (m. 2000) |
| Parents |
|
Karl Laurence Backus is an American actor and art director who appeared in multiple productions of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in the 1980s and 90s, a San Diego production of Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde (2003), and the films Skin: The Movie (2018), Thane of East County (2015), and Walking with the Enemy (2013). Backus has multiple ensemble nominations at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema.[2][3][4][5][6]
Career
[edit]In 1983, Backus was a public service announcer for KBST.[7] He worked as an art director for J. Walter Thompson[8][2] and in 2015, he was with the San Diego Film Commission.[9][10]
Backus is a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.[3][11] He became a member around 1986[6] and was part of seven teams sponsored by the Napa Valley Opera House[4] assigned to visit over 170,000 students annually across eight states[12] in the Western United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.[13][5][3] Following a performance at Edward C. Reed High School, Backus and his coworker were robbed of their equipment and clothing after discovering their car was stolen.[14]
Reception
[edit]Phyllis Wolfe at The Des Moines Register said his performance as Malcolm in Macbeth "hones his battle ax with a low, resounding ring downstage" and brought clarity to his lines.[15] Ron Cowan at Statesman Journal said his performance in Moliere Plays Paris "is briefly but unforgettably seen as a king who offhandedly invents the musical comedy."[16] Steven Winn at SFGate said Backus' scene in Arcadia was the best one, playing "a bored king who is both generous and high-handed."[17] George Weinberg-Harter at Backstage Magazine said Backus' performance as Edward Carson in Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde was the "understated seriousness of a complete legal professional."[18]
Personal life
[edit]Backus was born to Joyce and Laurence Backus of Central Point, Oregon.[8] He started acting around the time he was 20[1] and in 1987, graduated from Southern Oregon University with Bachelor of Fine Arts[7] in theatre arts. Backus earned a master's degree in 1992 at Asolo Conservatory for Actor Training. Backus graduated from the Portfolio Center in 1999 and married Summer King in 2000.[8] He studied with José Quintero, Oleg Tabakov[19] and did high school theater with Shelley Malil in 1981.[20]
Stage credits
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud Nine | Betty / Gerry | American College Theater Festival | Regional winner[7] | |
| Scapino! | Scapino | Southern Oregon State College, Ashland, Oregon | Mainstage[7] | |
| In a Northern Landscape | Samuel | |||
| Crimes of the Heart | Barnette | |||
| Rashomon | Woodcutter | |||
| Bar & Ger | Bar | Studio, by Geraldine Aron[7] | ||
| Fire in the Dark | Van Gogh | Studio[7] | ||
| A Life in the Theatre | John | |||
| Miss Julie | Jean | |||
| 1987–1988 | Macbeth | Elizabethan Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival | [7][21] | |
| A Midsummer Night's Dream | [7][22] | |||
| The Shoemaker's Holiday | [7][23][22] | |||
| Henry IV, Part One | [7] | |||
| 1989 | Cyrano de Bergerac | Apprentice Pickpocket / Boy / Cadet | Featuring Roy Abramsohn[7][6] | |
| Two Gentlemen of Verona | [6] | |||
| 1993 | Macbeth | Malcolm | Iowa Shakespeare Project, Greenwood Park, Iowa | [15] |
| 1996 | Arcadia | King Louis XIV | Angus Bowmer Theatre, Ashland, Oregon | February[24] |
| June[17] | ||||
| Moliere Plays Paris | Elizabethan Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival | By Molière[16][25] | ||
| Coriolanus | [25] | |||
| Romeo and Juliet | ||||
| 1997 | Gregory | [26][27][25] | ||
| 2003 | Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde | Attorney Edward Carson | San Diego, California | [18][28][29] |
| 2004 | Thief River | Middle-aged Ray | Diversionary Theatre, San Diego, California | By Lee Blessing[30] |
| Year | Title | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Romeo and Juliet | Yerington High School | [31][32] |
| The Taming of the Shrew | |||
| 'Tis Pity She's a Whore | |||
| Shoemaker's Holiday | |||
| 1988 | The Tempest | Little Theater, Kingsburg High School | [6] |
| Much Ado About Nothing | |||
| The Catcher in the Rye | |||
| Dandelion Wine | |||
| 1996 | Henry V | Tumwater Middle School, Portland, Oregon | [5] |
| Two Soldiers | By William Faulkner[5] | ||
| The Butter Battle Book | [5] | ||
| 1997 | Shh...Listen To Me | Cloverdale High School, Cloverdale, California | Featuring segments from Two Gentlemen of Verona, In Flanders Fields, and Dancing at Lughnasa[3] |
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Hidden Fears | Man at the Y | |
| 2006 | What's the Vig? | Kenneth Hart | [33] |
| 2011 | Misdirection | Simsung | Also executive producer[33] |
| 2013 | Walking with the Enemy | Colonel Klein | [34][19] |
| 2015 | Thane of East County | Duke | [33] |
| 2016 | A Life Lived | Jefferson | [35] |
| Undocumented | Reporter | Short film | |
| 2018 | Skin: The Movie | Lance | |
| 2019 | GPS | Malcomb | Short film |
Accolades
[edit]| Event | Year | Film | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blast Off Film Festival | 2019 | Skin: The Movie | Best Acting Ensemble | Nominated |
| Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema | 2020 | Best Ensemble | Nominated | |
| 2021 | GPS | Best Ensemble Cast | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Locals enjoy Shakespeare presentation". Mason Valley News. 1987-11-27. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "On the move". Adweek. 2000-10-30. Archived from the original on 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b c d "Oregon Shakespeare Festival Actors to visit Cloverdale High". Cloverdale Reveille. 1997-03-12. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Givens, Ann (1997-01-24). "The broad side of the Bard". Napa Valley Register. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e Johnson, Oscar (1996-12-02). "Shakespeare opens students' eyes". The Olympian. p. 15. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Shakespeare on stage in Kingsburg". The Selma Enterprise. 1988-11-09. p. 20. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Winter-Spring 1989". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 1989. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
- ^ a b c "King-Backus". Tallahassee Democrat. 1999-12-26. p. 54. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Accomando, Beth (2015-05-23). "San Diego's Film Community Optimistic After City Council Budget Meeting". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "San Diego Mayor's Office Outlines Plans To Attract Film, Television Production". KPBS Public Media. 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Leary, Kathleen F. (2009). Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Internet Archive. Carleston, SC : Arcadia Pub. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7385-7086-0.
- ^ "Timberline Shakespeare". The Olympian. 1989-11-18. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Actors in Visalia". The Hanford Sentinel. 1988-11-10. p. 19. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "New teaching tool gets Reno preview". Reno Gazette-Journal. 1987-11-19. p. 51. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Wolfe, Phyllis (1993-07-31). "Get thee thither to 'Macbeth' in the park". The Des Moines Register. p. 27. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Cowan, Ron (1996-02-26). "An enjoyable course of fluffy farce". Statesman Journal. pp. 27–28. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Winn, Steven (1996-06-20). "'Arcadia' -- Encore In Ashland / Stoppard's work tops non-Shakespeare plays". SFGATE. ProQuest 303490247. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b Weinberg-Harter, George (2019-11-05). "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde". Backstage. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b "Walking with the Enemy | Trailer & Official Movie Site | See It Now". Walking with the Enemy. Archived from the original on 2013-12-06. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Schroder, Susan (2010-09-08). "Actor's friends testify in his defense". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2024-07-30. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Review of MACBETH". Shakespeare Bulletin. 5/6 (6/1): 18–19. 1987. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26352373 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b "Review of A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM". Shakespeare Bulletin. 5/6 (6/1): 20–21. 1987. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26352376 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Review of THE SHOEMAKERS' HOLIDAY". Shakespeare Bulletin. 5/6 (6/1): 21. 1987. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26352378 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Hurwitt, Robert (1996-02-28). "Ashland plans on growing up Oregon Shakespeare Festival reaches for overdue big-time status". SFGATE. ProQuest 270421710. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ a b c Theatre world, 1996-1997 season. Internet Archive. New York : Applause. 1999. pp. 200–201. ISBN 978-1-55783-343-3.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Armstrong, Alan (1997). "Review of ROMEO AND JULIET". Shakespeare Bulletin. 15 (2): 33–34. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26353079 – via JSTOR.
- ^ "Romeo and Juliet". Shakespeare Quarterly. 48 (5): 732–743. 1997. ISSN 0037-3222. JSTOR 2871361 – via JSTOR.
- ^ Welsh, Anne Marie (2003-01-20). "A righteous 'Gross Indecency'". San Diego Union Tribune. ProQuest 272062586. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ Jacques, Ken (2005). The play's the thing : a photographic odyssey through theatre in San Diego. Internet Archive. San Diego, CA : Sunbelt Publications. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-932653-71-0.
- ^ de Poyen, Jennifer (2004-08-30). "Diversionary has an intricate study of passion and denial". San Diego Union Tribune. ProQuest 272381824. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Shakespearean actors at local schools". Mason Valley News. 1987-11-27. p. 17. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oregon Shakespearean Festival actors to present school & public programs here". Mason Valley News. 1987-11-13. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-08-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Karl Backus | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
- ^ Chang, Justin (2014-04-26). "Film Review: 'Walking With the Enemy'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
- ^ "Actress Denise Richards Takes On Rare Dramatic Role in Award Winning Independent Film, A Life Lived". M2 PressWIRE. 2017-08-14. ProQuest 1928293514. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
External links
[edit]- Karl Backus at IMDb