DD ARTIST PROFILE SERIES - Kate Horvath plays Lady Macbeth in the upcoming “Macbeth: A Dinner Party’ at Zeitgeist October 20-November 4
One of the main through lines of Kate Horvath’s life has been the arts. Whether directing, acting, teaching, mentoring, or helping others find talent for their businesses, she is an amazing artist who has generously shared her gifts with so many.
As she related, “The arts are essential to life and to understanding the world around us. They are a tool to unlock your own point of view and meet others in experiences unlike your own. They are an unparalleled tool to create community and find meaning and to define our values . . .”
It All Started with Reading
“Reading sparked my interest in everything,” said Kate. “I was a feral reader, voraciously consuming stuff way beyond my age and experience and with a vocabulary that exceeded my ability to pronounce it correctly.”
“I started reading at age two, I was pouring through Shakespeare by the second grade. My parents encouraged reading, and we read a lot as a family. No books were off-limits.”
Then Came Theater
Her aunt and uncle started taking Kate to see plays and introduced her to musicals. “The first play I saw was CATS on tour at the DECC when I was in the third grade - it literally changed my life.”
She added, “That is hilarious as folks don’t really think of CATS as life-changing but I had read the TS Eliot poems, and man, I was hooked. My Mom loved going to see shows so we occasionally started to drive down to Minneapolis to catch tours of things like Les Miz.”
Her love of theater continued through her elementary, middle school, and into her high school years as she found how much being onstage and in a theatrical environment defined who she was.
“In high school, I had an amazing Fulbright Exchange teacher from Scotland, who directed me as a 17-year-old Lady Macbeth. She also encouraged me to pursue theatre in college and professionally,” Kate noted. “Superior High School had theatre classes as an elective, and I had a chance to direct and learn a lot in that environment.”
To New York and Back Again
Kate attended UMD and graduated with a BFA in Acting, Musical Theatre. After graduation, she went to New York City to work in theater from 2001-2007. “I worked in many places - most notably The Pearl Theatre Company, on shows like “The Merchant of Venice,” and “The Rivals.” Other Off-Broadway, credits include “Hamlet” (twice), and “Macbeth,” (twice), and Nina in “The Seagull,” among others.
When she came back to Duluth in 2007, she became the Playhouse Education Director and then Director of Children's Theatre & Education Programs, and later Artistic Director of Children's Theatre & Education Programs. She calls her time with the Playhouse the most important part of her theatre career thus far.
“I was able to build something that we - students, families, and the community - could be incredibly proud of over the decade that followed. I am so grateful to have had that opportunity, to know and love those people, create community, and an astounding volume of successful programs, outreaches, and to have made work that outshone what anyone believed was possible,” she said.
Teaching Yoga, Finding Talent, and Building a Portfolio
After her time as an actor in NYC and her decade at the Duluth Playhouse, Kate earned her first Registered Yoga Teacher Certification and is in the process of earning her advanced certification. She is also pursuing study in that area of her life.
She also teaches yoga in the community (at Svalja, and Movo) and recently co-founded ROAM Yoga with longtime friend Miriam Hanson Rogotzke. ROAM Yoga will offer retreats, with their debut experience in Honduras in March of 2025.
Horvath left the Playhouse in 2017 to become an Executive Recruiter for Salmela, a Duluth-based firm specializing in talent acquisition for large companies, mostly in NYC.
“Cory and Kara Salmela created a place on their team where my skills, leadership, and work ethic are valued. My work with Salmela has a mentoring aspect I enjoy as we consult companies and organizations on talent strategy and individuals on career growth,” she explained.
In addition, she has been working on a long-term goal of real estate investment and has a small portfolio of properties, including short-term rentals that she has restored, one of which is a historic train car.
After taking time away from theatre, she is excited to return to the theatrical community with colleagues and friends. She directed “POTUS” at Zeitgeist last spring and will direct “The Ice Fishing Play” at UMD with the Theatre Department this winter. She is currently in rehearsal to play Lady Macbeth at Zeitgeist.
The Scottish Play
“Playing Lady Macbeth is a privilege, and I am delighted to be performing Shakespeare after so long. It's galvanizing and fun to play a powerful, commanding woman - especially one who was written in 1606. I love that the play is profoundly political.”
The production is an immersive dinner theater with a five-course Scottish meal. “It’s a very non-traditional rehearsal process and run - because we are performing and creating this experience on the “dark nights” of the Zeitgeist restaurant, so Sunday and Monday nights only,” explained Kate.
“We are doing something for the first time and it’s always exciting to problem-solve and get creative around new ideas.”
She added.” It’s interactive and in your face, we are right there. Macbeth is one of the action-hero (or anti-hero) plays of the Shakespeare cannon; there is hardly time to take a breath (for us) while the audience is eating and drinking. It’s a totally different context to enjoy the story and experience Shakespeare for Duluth audiences.”
An Artistic Place to Collaborate
Kate is happy to be back in Duluth and thankful to return to a place where she had many mentors over the years, including Kate Ufema, Ann Bergeron, and Tom Isbell at UMD, long-time director Liz Larson, who recently passed, and the students with whom she worked at the Playhouse.
“I love living here close to my family and in a community with many dear friends. Where else could I do so ridiculously many things?” Kate noted. “We are so lucky to have such a rich arts community, and it’s up to us to keep it that way. Also, this is home, Lake Superior is where it is at. “
Kate enjoys the collaborative process in all her arenas of life, including theatre. “It’s magic! It’s hard work to make theatre, for sure, but it is actual alchemy, and in the right context with the right people it is absolute joy.”
“I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had in Duluth,” Kate concluded, “Where else could I have grown so much in so many different ways as an artist, an educator, and an entrepreneur?”
Information on “Macbeth: A Dinner Party’
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Robert Lee
At Zeitgeist 222 East Superior Street Downtown Duluth
OCTOBER 20TH & 21ST, 27TH & 28TH
NOVEMBER 3RD & 4TH at 6 pm (Doors open at 5 pm)
Sundays and Mondays Price includes dinner and a show outside the black box.
The classic tragedy of Macbeth is told in the way the playwright intended, directly to the audience. A new immersive take on dinner and a show with food, drinks, and witches includes a five-course Scottish-themed meal with the price of admission, served throughout the performance.
Tickets at zeitgeistarts.com/theater