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Draft:Karl Backus

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Karl Backus
Born
Karl Laurence Backus
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Actor
  • art director
Years active1981–present
Known forOregon Shakespeare Festival
Notable credits
Spouse
Summer King
​
(m. 2000)​
Parents
  • Laurence Backus (father)
  • Joyce Backus (mother)

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.[1][2][3][4][5]

Personal life

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Backus was born to Joyce and Laurence Backus of Central Point, Oregon.[6] In 1987, he graduated from Southern Oregon University with Bachelor of Fine Arts[7] in theatre arts and 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.[6] He studied with José Quintero, Oleg Tabakov[8] and did high school theater with Shelley Malil in 1981.[9]

Career

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In 1983, Backus was a public service announcer for KBST.[7] He worked as an art director for J. Walter Thompson[6][1] and in 2015, he was with the San Diego Film Commission.[10][11]

Oregon Shakespeare Festival

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Main article: Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Backus is a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.[2][12] He became a member around 1986[5] and was part of seven teams sponsored by the Napa Valley Opera House[3] assigned to visit over 170,000 students annually in the Western United States.[4][2]

Critical analysis

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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."[13] Steven Winn at SFGate said Backus' scene in Arcadia was the best one, playing "a bored king who is both generous and high-handed."[14]

Stage credits

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Theater performances
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][15]
A Midsummer Night's Dream [7][16]
The Shoemaker's Holiday [7][17][16]
Henry IV, Part One [7]
1989 Cyrano de Bergerac Apprentice Pickpocket / Boy / Cadet Featuring Roy Abramsohn[7][5]
Two Gentlemen of Verona [5]
1996 Arcadia King Louis XIV Angus Bowmer Theatre, Ashland, Oregon February[18]
June[14]
Moliere Plays Paris Elizabethan Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival By Molière[19]
Coriolanus [19]
Romeo and Juliet
1997 Gregory [20][21][19]
2003 Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde Attorney Edward Carson San Diego, California [13][22][23]
2004 Thief River Middle-aged Ray Diversionary Theatre, San Diego, California By Lee Blessing[24]
School visitation performances
Year Title Location Notes
1988 The Tempest Little Theater, Kingsburg High School [5]
Much Ado About Nothing
The Catcher in the Rye
Dandelion Wine
1996 Henry V Tumwater Middle School, Portland, Oregon [4]
Two Soldiers By William Faulkner[4]
The Butter Battle Book [4]
1997 Shh...Listen To Me Cloverdale High School, Cloverdale, California Featuring segments from Two Gentlemen of Verona, In Flanders Fields, and Dancing at Lughnasa[2]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 What's the Vig? Kenneth Hart [25]
2011 Misdirection Simsung Also executive producer[25]
2013 Walking with the Enemy Colonel Klein [26][8]
2015 Thane of East County Duke [25]
2016 A Life Lived Jefferson [27]
2018 Skin: The Movie Lance
2019 GPS Malcomb Short film

Accolades

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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

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  1. ^ a b "On the move". Adweek. 2000-10-30. Archived from the original on 2018-12-16. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b c "King-Backus". Tallahassee Democrat. 1999-12-26. p. 54. Retrieved 2024-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Winter-Spring 1989". Oregon Shakespeare Festival. 1989. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Accomando, Beth (2015-05-23). "San Diego's Film Community Optimistic After City Council Budget Meeting". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  11. ^ "San Diego Mayor's Office Outlines Plans To Attract Film, Television Production". KPBS Public Media. 2015-06-04. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  12. ^ Leary, Kathleen F. (2009). Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Internet Archive. Carleston, SC : Arcadia Pub. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-7385-7086-0.
  13. ^ a b Weinberg-Harter, George (2019-11-05). "Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde". Backstage. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  14. ^ 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.
  15. ^ "Review of MACBETH". Shakespeare Bulletin. 5/6 (6/1): 18–19. 1987. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26352373 – via JSTOR.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "Review of THE SHOEMAKERS' HOLIDAY". Shakespeare Bulletin. 5/6 (6/1): 21. 1987. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26352378 – via JSTOR.
  18. ^ 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.
  19. ^ 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)
  20. ^ Armstrong, Alan (1997). "Review of ROMEO AND JULIET". Shakespeare Bulletin. 15 (2): 33–34. ISSN 0748-2558. JSTOR 26353079 – via JSTOR.
  21. ^ "Romeo and Juliet". Shakespeare Quarterly. 48 (5): 732–743. 1997. ISSN 0037-3222. JSTOR 2871361 – via JSTOR.
  22. ^ Welsh, Anne Marie (2003-01-20). "A righteous 'Gross Indecency'". San Diego Union Tribune. ProQuest 272062586. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  23. ^ 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.
  24. ^ 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.
  25. ^ a b c "Karl Backus | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2024-08-11.
  26. ^ Chang, Justin (2014-04-26). "Film Review: 'Walking With the Enemy'". Variety. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  27. ^ "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.
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