JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say?
KATE TROTTER: I started my career under the guidance of Douglas Rain and Martha Henry at NTS. Under Douglas, the school had a classical tradition both in style (we called him “Mr. Rain”) and in focus. Douglas believed if you could do Shakespeare you could do anything. As a very young actress I was a part of the early seasons at The Blyth Festival and years later Janet Amos asked me to return there to direct. As a result of my training at NTS I worked all across Canada doing wonderful classical roles and even found myself on tour at The Kennedy Centre in the States. I spent my 30th birthday working on stage at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and did several fabulous seasons at both the Shaw Festival and the Stratford festival. When my daughter was no longer young enough to drag around the country I began doing more on screen work. I was offered really wonderful roles on TV and in film often due to my classical training. I played Marie Curie in a movie about her life as well as the delicious part of a Shakespearean actress on Murdoch Mysteries. I have worked opposite many great international stars ranging from Sophia Loren, Angelina Jolie, Charles Bronson, James Woods and all three of the Carradine Brothers. I played a continuing role for Warner Brothers on the series Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. I have been nominated for numerous awards – and won several. I have had a rewarding and exhilarating career which still astonishes me. A recent film (Tru Love) won me best actress awards in Wales, Mumbai India and San Diego. All in all, it has been a wonderful ride and I am continually grateful for the opportunities I have been graced with.
JS: What important beliefs do you express in your work?
KT: I think I always express and explore the necessity of love and belonging. Often (and not surprising) it is the love of a child. I think my characters are always struggling to understand their own motivations. I think I express the belief that we should seek to know ourselves better. It is through that knowledge that we can live better lives. I do believe that the arts can (and do) change lives. I believe that connecting with other human beings (often they are part of an audience) is an honor and a privilege. I believe we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. I believe that it is an honor to be an actress and speak the words of great writers. I believe that when it comes right down to it we all struggle with the same needs and fears and eventual loses. I believe that the arts give us the arena and the platform to both discuss those things and to share them. Because of these things, we are less alone.
JS: Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one.
KT: Well – (#1) Shakespeare of course – because he said it all and he said it brilliantly. Through his works we still ask the fundamental questions and we still seek to answer them. Doing The Winter’s Tale at Stratford was an honor. Shakespeare is a joy to perform. And (#2) Clare Coulter because she is the perfect actress. She simply cannot be false. She is a woman of great integrity and fierce intelligence. She played my nurse when I was Juliet and my daughter when we did Top Girls. She was astonishing in both. And I loved her in both – as both the character and the person. (…And of course Brent Carver for all the same reasons and many, many others). Now that is my answer if you want people in the arts: if it is someone not in the arts it would have to be my daughter Kathleen. By being born she showed me how to love and live and perform and dream. She continues to astonish me with her humanity and her drive and her courage and her determination to improve the state of the world one person at a time.
JS: How have you changed since you began to do creative work?
KT: I am less insecure and less anxious about pleasing people. It is a great relief. It is partly age and partly experience and partly that I have the good fortune to work with directors who have believed in me. There is not much more thrilling that being hired to be exactly the actress you are and having a director clear the way so you can do your work.
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
KT: I think my biggest challenge as a creative person is to not lose hope between jobs. It is easy to forget I am an actress if I am not acting or preparing for a role. One has to have faith that right part will come along and the right director will be directing – sometimes that faith seems illusive. And this may seem superficial but it is a challenge to keep myself open and available to delicate and subtle suggestions, ideas and emotions on set. Sometimes people can chatter too much and I lose the delicate threads that are connecting me to the moment and to the scene and to the heartbeat of the character. When I am working, I get lost in a role. And I love that feeling. It is often a challenge to ensure that that can happen. One has to be open and friendly on set but still be able to establish the boundaries one needs when one needs them without upsetting or insulting anyone. Sometimes it is a tricky balance to strike.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life.
KT: Without a doubt the most important one was the birth of my daughter Kathleen. When Kathleen was born, I began to understand what was important and what was not. I understood there was a business side to being a performer – because I had to make enough money to raise her and put her through school. I understood the need to be present and honest and open and real and generous and available. I understood my limits and my failings. I understood that love was possible. There have been also been several roles that have been turning points. When I was offered a continuing role by Warner Brothers it was a huge turning point partly because then I was a lead on an American series. And that is a pretty fabulous thing to be offered out of the blue. And I was offered it without an audition which was even more astonishing. Playing Marie Curie was a turning point because I understood that acting was something important – and not a vain activity. Playing Miss Alma (in Summer and Smoke) showed me the power a piece of theatre could have. I think playing Miss Alma was when I decided with certainty that I would not leave Canada. The decision to not make the move to the States was a turning point and one I have never regretted. It was an important turning point when I turned down a fabulous offer to work at Stratford (under the guidance of Robin Philips) to honor a contract I had already signed to work at Theatre New Brunswick. I knew that integrity would always trump opportunity. It was a big decision but again, not one I regret. I got to work with Robin years later for which I am and forever will be grateful. He was a genius.
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about what you do?
KT: It is hard work. And the goal is to make it look effortless and easy. Also, an actor is an unusual combination of qualities – and usually there is an emotional wound at the centre. And finally acting chooses you – you don’t choose it.
JS: How and why did you begin to do creative work in the first place?
KT: I had no choice. It was as much a surprise to me as it was to my family. There were no performers in my background and I had no aspirations to be an actress. I was raised on a farm and acting was not a topic at the dinner table. Somehow at university I discovered literature and somehow the fates arranged an audition for NTS. I spent the first year at theatre school thinking they had the wrong applicant. Every acting job I have ever done has been a gift and a surprise.
JS: What haven’t you attempted as yet that you would like to do and please tell us why?
KT: I have not done enough directing. I’m not sure why. I have had several wonderful experiences directing and been asked what I wanted to do next. But I haven’t followed those openings or opportunities – I’m not sure really why. Acting has always been front and centre and I was so fascinated by what might be waiting for me as an actress that I just didn’t carve out the time to invest in directing. And now I have discovered psychotherapy and it too has claimed my heart. Perhaps there will be room for directing down the road. I certainly love coaching and working with students of acting – and that is a form of directing. I’d like to do more.
JS: What are your most meaningful achievements?
KT: Well – Kathleen – if one can claim someone else’s life as an achievement. And loving and caring for my pets. I think I might say that I feel I have led an honorable life to date and that feels like an achievement. And it would be ingenuous if I weren’t to say that I am deeply proud of the acting awards I have won and been nominated for.
JS: What advice would you give a young person who would like to do what you do?
KT: Try to be honest with yourself about what you ‘need’ and want from your life before you commit to a life in the arts. It isn’t easy and often it isn’t financially rewarding. But if it is something you are called to do, do it with your heart and soul. Make connections with people of all ages and all stages in their careers. Never burn a bridge if you can help it. Care about your scene partners and help them be the best they can be – and they will do the same for you. No one does this work alone or in a vacuum. Don’t imagine you will succeed on your own. Have a full life outside your work so you don’t need your work to be your entire world. Love an animal. Love a child. Volunteer. Do things that seem unrelated to acting. See other actor’s work as often as you can and support what others are doing. Don’t be too critical. Develop your skills as a human being (kindness, generosity, humanity, curiosity) so you can hone them as a performer.
JS: Of what value are critics?
KT: They are of enormous value. They set a bar for excellence. They shape careers. They record history. And they give young and old performers courage. They validate the art form and they validate the artist. We could not do without the good ones. I still remember receiving my first review while I was in theatre school. Jamie Portman said I was an actress to watch for. And you – Jim Strecker – wrote me a poem after Summer and Smoke. I felt validated and supported. It kept me going through the lows and helped me celebrate the highs. Critics can be destructive and mean and dangerous. And I have certainly had to recover from the whips and scorn they have sent my way. But they can also be (and often are) the foundation we stand on.
JS: What do you ask of your audience?
KT: Ah – to show up. And also to let me take chances so that I grow as an artist. If I don’t try new things and risk failing I will never get better. If I don’t grow and learn and develop as an actress I will never be able to give them the performance that will open their hearts to new feelings. So – I suppose I ask them to occasionally give me a break – to believe in me. It is a big ‘ask ‘I guess. Maybe it is too much to ask?
JS: What specifically would you change about what goes on in the world?
KT: I would like animals and children to be safe from abuse and cruelty. I would like more therapy to be available for people in crisis. I would like the arts to be more accessible.
JS: If you could relive one experience from your creative life, what would it be and why would you do?
KT: I had to come back to this question because it took me a long time to think of an answer. But I think I would not have done a production I did of Jungle of the Cities (Brecht). It was too cynical and too harsh and I didn’t have the stamina or a thick enough skin to survive unscathed the rehearsal or the run of the play. I was also in a fairly fragile personal space and I don’t think I was able to understand the piece or my place in it. It would have been better if I had turned that one down.
JS: Tell us what it feels like to be a figure who is presented somehow in the media. What effect does this presence have on you?
KT: The media has been good to me – only a couple of reviewers have been unnecessarily mean. I suppose like everyone I have had my detractors and those reviews are seared into my brain. I have felt hurt by one reviewer who I felt used my friendship carelessly. But I think I can honestly say that the media has been good to me. I have not been trivialized or sexualized. I have been taken seriously as an artist. I think I have managed to skate the fine line between privacy and public presence with success. I have never gone to an interview with trepidation and I have often been sincerely grateful for what has been written or said about me. Again – I feel incredibly lucky. I don’t think everyone could or would say this.
JS: Name two places you would like to visit, one you haven’t been to and one to experience again and briefly tell us why.
KT: I would return to Ireland because it is in my blood. My father’s family came from there and many of my relatives still live there. If I could have made a living in Ireland I think I might have moved. The arts feel like the life blood of the country. One can strike up a conversation with anyone. When I have performed with an Irish accent I have gone to Ireland to do personal research. I have sat in restaurants with a tape recorder – or in my aunt’s living room reading dialogue. It was glorious. I would also return to Prague because it is stunningly beautiful and I loved filming there. I haven’t been to the northern part of Canada – and I would love to go there. I think it is partly to know more about this country I call ‘home’ – but I think I would also like to feel totally challenged by the weather and the silence and the vast landscapes.
JS: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on, are preparing, or have recently completed. Why do they matter to you and why should they matter to us?
KT: There is a film project in the works that is being written and directed by a director I love and admire and have worked with previously. He has spoken to me about a role and I am hoping it all comes together. But it is his story to tell and not mine so I can’t say any more. And I am just about to complete a degree in an area of study that is new to me. I wanted to expand my horizons and I have …. It has been and continues to be a fascinating journey. Again I won’t say more just yet – as the journey is still in progress. I did a lovely episode of Heartland recently. When I was doing that series, I was reminded just how much I love to act and how much I love being on set. It was so great to be reunited with Chris Potter and so lovely to be welcomed into the fold. I also got to do some work with John Harrison on Anne of Green Gables. It is so lovely when a director asks you to come and “play let’s make a movie”. And that is what he did.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
KT: I find none of it depressing. The young minds and hearts of the new generation give me hope. I love working with the kids that are finding their way in this wonderful world of acting. I did a weekend intensive at Sheridan College last year called “Understanding the Actor”. It was designed specifically for the students studying directing, producing, editing and stage craft. I loved teaching and I loved the students. At the end of each day I fairly danced home. They were wonderful. They are the new generation and they make me very proud. And here I am – at 63 – still being asked to bring my experience and ‘talent’ to the table. I am treated well. I am given a lovely cup of peppermint tea when I need one. My agent still cares and thinks there is a place for me. Casting directors ask me to come and audition. Directors ask me to play ‘let’s make a movie’. How lucky I am. Now, I certainly can’t begin to understand all the latest forms of broadcasting, web series and production. I don’t know how to do a web series – but that’s ok. Others do. I just drink the peppermint tea, learn my lines and try not to bump into the furniture.
JS: Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising thing about you?
KT: That I am an actress. I was born and raised on a farm. What got me from there to here is a mystery.