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Hometown interview

How fun! I was interviewed by my hometown paper, The Ionia Sentinel-Standard about my journey from community children’s theater to Dark Winds. Check out the article below!

PORTLAND — Kate Bergeron fell in love with the performing arts while growing up in Ionia County.

Now based in the western U.S., Bergeron is acting in a new noir mystery-thriller series on AMC.

Bergeron, a Portland native, has landed a recurring role on “Dark Winds,” which premiered June 12 on AMC and AMC+. Episodes air at 9 p.m. Sundays.

“Dark Winds” is based on the book series by Tony Hillerman. George R.R. Martin and Robert Redford serve as executive producers of the show, which centers on two Navajo Nation police officers — Joe Leaphorn (played by Zahn McClarnon) and Jim Chee (Kiowa Gordon) — in the 1970s Southwest who try to solve a double murder case.

Bergeron plays Karen Smith, a Mormon mother on a family vacation, in the show.

“Every time I’m on set, that’s what I’m looking for: it’s that feeling of family, connection and group storytelling, which I think is so powerful when you get it right.”

It was a priority for the Bergeron family to be involved with the performing arts in Portland, Kate said. She sometimes acted in plays with her father, while her younger brother was involved in the tech crew. The three also formed a band, called “The Bergeron Trio,” playing at a variety of area events.

Bergeron graduated from Portland High School in 2000, participating in theater productions and in choir.

“We’re such a small town I feel like I was so incredibly lucky to have such an amazing group of theater people to find a home with,” she said.

Bergeron earned a degree in musical theater from the Acting Conservatory at The Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. After graduating college, Bergeron decided musical theater wasn’t the way she wanted to go. She sang in bands professionally and wanted to act on television and film — deciding to move to Los Angeles.

Bergeron has focused on comedy and more serious roles in her acting career. She performed at The Second City in Chicago and had a recurring role as an English teacher on the ABC comedy “Speechless.” She also created a one-woman variety show called “Katie-Do,” which comprises sketches, shorts, songs, interviews and inspiration. Bergeron believes she had a natural draw for comedy, but wanted to also explore dramatic roles.

“I need the balance,” she said. “I need to do some comedy and then go look at the dark stuff. I really don’t think I can be happy with just one or the other. Luckily, with my career I don’t have to.

“Dark Winds” was filmed last fall. Bergeron said the COVID-19 pandemic played a factor, adding that positive tests resulted in shutdowns on set and the show staff was tested regularly. Shooting was sporadic for three months, Bergeron said.

“It was a very unique experience, but I felt safe and I felt taken care of,” she said. “I felt they were checking all the safety boxes as much as one possibly can.”

Bergeron is developing a half-hour comedy pilot set in a small-town children’s theater. She plans to use her Portland experiences in her writing.

Bergeron splits her time between Los Angeles and New Mexico but still keeps in contact with friends from Michigan. She and a couple of her childhood friends from Portland recently made a trip to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio.

Friends have sent Bergeron photos of her on the “Dark Winds,” and the Portland Civic Players acknowledged her role on its Facebook page.

“It’s really wonderful to have support from people back home,” she said. “It’s a long, challenging road. For people who know I’ve been doing this since I was 5 years old at the theater, I think it’s not quite as exciting as it is for me but, even so, it’s really fun to have them cheering me on.

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

New Actor Reel

I’ve cut together a brand new drama-heavy acting reel and I’m so pleased with how it turned out. I’d love to hear what you think! Favorite character?

Check it out on IMDB! Thanks for watching.

Kate’s Acting Reel

Kate on set in western drama

Actor Hurdles and a Premiere Date

Exciting news!

Dark Winds will be premiering on June 12th on AMC+.

I’m so excited to see how it turns out. And on that note, I now’s a perfect opportunity to share with you how many hurdles an actor has to dodge to actually make it onto the screen.

From audition to air date, there are so many places where an actor’s role can just evaporate and no one will even get to see the thing they’ve been working toward with all of their heart.

For example:

  1. Getting the audition. To get into a room (or these days to get a request to send in a self-tape) is HARD. Actors need the perfect combination of materials (headshot, resumes, acting reel) and relationships (either directly with the casting director or via their agent/manager) to even get asked to audition. If that all doesn’t fit the character being cast ➜ back to square one
  2. Auditioning: Many actors are called in to audition for every single role. Even 1-liners. A good and show-appropriate performance in the audition is basically the only thing actors have any control over. If the casting team and producers have thoughts about your look, vocal tone, height, etc that don’t match how they picture the role ➜ back to square one
  3. Yay! You get the call from your agent that you booked the role! Happy dance time! But whoops, they rewrite the script and now your character’s gone ➜ back to square one
  4. You’re on set! You shot the thing and are heading home happy as can be. Now it’s all up to the editors. If they decide your part isn’t intricate to the story and need to shorten the run time, you may end up being cut from the project ➜ back to square one.
  5. Ok, your part is so integral to the show that there’s no way you’ll be cut. You act with the lead for heaven’s sake! Oh… but because you were with the lead, they only used that person’s coverage and your role is basically just voice-over now. ➜ back to square one.
  6. Or you shoot the thing, are SURE you’ll be featured, and now are just waiting for the project to premiere. Waiting… and waiting… the project gets stuck in post-production purgatory. ➜ back to square one

There are SO MANY actor hurdles on the way to public, visible success. This is why it’s so important for actors’ mental health to celebrate each tiny win along the path. Because they aren’t tiny. Not really. They just aren’t visible.

Kate peers over a film slate clapper board
There are so many actor hurdles on the way to visible success!

 

A romantic comedy about romantic comedies…

Come join me on March 18th or 19th only for a night of laughs, love, and wit all from the comfort of your own (surely pantsless) living room. It’s live theater… on zoom! What an interesting mix between film and theater.

Presented by PlayZoomers, Backstage Fairytale by Michael John McGoldrick is a romantic comedy about romantic comedies. I star in this absolute charmer alongside Roy Stanton and it’s directed by Duchess Dale. I can’t wait to share it with you! Grab your tickets here. 

 

 

Want to ee an interview with the cast? Well…. as you wish.

http://https://youtu.be/GwgrMctC_PU

 

New ABQMom contributor

I am so pleased to announce I am a new ABQMom contributor! ABQMom is a blog that connects and supports Albuquerque moms while helping them enjoy all there is to offer in this wonderful city. You may recall that I did an Instagram takeover for them a while back.

Now I’m joining the team as a monthly writer and content creator!

As an ABQMom contributor, I’m so looking forward to meeting some new Mama writer friends and getting to know my new hometown.

Make sure you’re subscribed here and then check out my very first blog post, “This Hike is a Hug from Nature”.

Kate reads…

There are two things that I have always wanted and known myself to be: an actor and a mother. Before I had kids, I scratched the maternal itch as a teacher, a nanny, a children’s theater director. I am very grateful to now have both things enriching my life.

When I was young, I was the kid curled up all day Saturday with a new book. I was the kid who brought home a grocery bag of library books and who could endlessly browse in a bookstore (ok, I’m still that kid). Reading, storytelling has a special place in my heart. I LOVE reading to my children. And as an actor, (and just general believer in sillyness) I am PRO doing voices. 🙂 So! I decided to put that joy and passion to use with a simple project, reading some of my kids’ favorite stories and sharing them with other families. This is “Kate reads…”

If you have children in your world, please enjoy this story-time with them (or use it to buy yourself a bathroom break alone! What a thought!) If you do not have kids in your life currently, I’d so appreciate you passing it on to friends who do.

Please enjoy one of my son’s favorites. Kate reads,,, The Pout Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen