Perfecting her craft

By David Dixon

Hillcrest actress shines  on local stages

Since 2017, Hillcrest resident Kate Rose Reynolds received a lot of attention for her roles in a few local productions.

Last year, the local actress earned rave reviews for her performance in a dark San Diego premiere “Margin of Error” from The Roustabouts Theatre Co.  Recently, she was in an acclaimed staging of the drama “Cardboard Piano” at the Diversionary Theatre, and is currently in Scripps Ranch Theatre’s version of Alan Ayckbourn’s science fiction comedy thriller, “Communicating Doors.”

As the daughter of the highly respected San Diego actress and director Rosina Reynolds, the performing arts were always an integral part the younger Reynold’s life. Her earliest memories include visiting theaters to watch a variety of shows.

For Reynolds, pursuing a career in theater just made sense.

“I think it would be weird if I went into accounting,” she said. “Going into theater was kind of an obvious choice.”

Reynolds learned a great deal about acting through her education at Yale University, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts and the T. Schreiber Studio in New York.

“All of that, and living life, helped me develop into a fully formed person,” she said.

Though generally portraying feisty characters, Reynolds noted her roles have still been very different from each other.

“If I’m lucky, I’m able to find the empathy and humanity of each character I play,” she said.

Humanity is important for a “trippy” show such as “Communicating Doors,” which features a premise that’s far from normal. In the show, Reynolds depicts a 2025 dominatrix Poopay, who travels back in time to 2005. Poopay pursues this journey to prevent the murder of Ruella (Wendy Waddell), the intelligent and good-hearted wife of an immoral businessman, Reece (Charles Peters). Poopay and Ruella quickly become friends and team up to change their fates.

As a time traveler, Reynold’s character experiences a major transformation over the course of the play.

“There is such a beautiful arc that Poopay gets to take,” she said. “She ends up being an incredibly strong woman.”

Another powerful character that Reynolds will play in November is Viola in the Arabian Shakespeare Festival’s production of William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Many of Reynolds dream roles are from the mind of this legendary playwright; Viola is a character that’s on her personal bucket list.

In addition, Reynolds will star in an independent horror movie, “Soul to Keep,” which premieres next month in Los Angeles at the Shriekfest Horror Film Festival.

Besides those projects, this summer she shot a local web series, “No More Mr. Nice Guy,” which should be available to watch online in the not too distant future.

When Reynolds decided to move back to San Diego last December, she knew Hillcrest was the perfect location for her. The local actress used to hang out in the suburban neighborhood with her friends during high school.

“I remember saying that someday I wanted to live in Hillcrest,” Reynolds said.

Some of her favorite aspects about the neighborhood is how easy it is to walk around, the streets, bars, shops, and what she describes as a sense of community. In particular, she frequents a local artist shop, Creative Crossroads.

“[Creative Crossroads] is one of my go-to gift buying stores,” she said. “It’s fabulous.”

Other favorite spots for her are Project Bar & Grill, Nunu’s Tavern and Great Maple.

Besides acting, Reynolds is interested in trying her hand at directing in the future as she’s held the role of assistant director in various productions outside of San Diego. Reynolds is also interested in writing and is open to lighting design work, which she dabbled in during college.

No matter what happens in the future, Reynolds plans to stick to her passion as a performer.

“Theater gives you a chance to be someone else and live their life,” she said. “It’s both rewarding and fun.”

“Communicating Doors” runs through Oct. 7 at the Scripps Ranch Theatre. For tickets or more information, visit scrippsranchtheatre.com or call 858-578-7728. Learn more about Kate Rose Reynolds at katerosereynolds.com.

—A fan of film and theater from a very young age, David Dixon has written reviews and features for various print and online publications. You can reach him at daviddixon0202@gmail.com.