Kate West Reviews

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About me

Gender Female
Industry Arts
Occupation Theatre Reviewer, Administrator and Producer
Location Los Angeles, California, United States
Introduction Kate West has an extensive theatrical background and has been reviewing plays, musicals, one-acts, improv, comedy sketch and much more since 2003. Surrounded by mansplainers since forever. Cursed Muse. WEAR A MASK, SAVE LIVES!
Interests INTERESTS AND BACKGROUND: Kate West started reviewing on www.bluntreview.com in 2003. She's been asked to review for everyone from DemandPR, Onagan Entertainment and Theatre Planners, to hundreds of local theater companies and many others. She reviews plays, musicals, comedy sketch, improv, one-acts, television, film, books, art and would even do your family memoirs. With a B.A. in Theatre Arts and an English Minor from Santa Clara University, she's worked in theatre almost her entire life, doing everything from stage managing, props and marketing, to a couple of decades of some serious acting. She has also written non-fiction for online websites such as Smith Magazine, Betty Confidential and Working World. She loves Los Angeles and was an Ovation voter for LAStage Alliance three years running, while producing local theater and working in improv. She loves to proofread, so don't be afraid to ask. Complete theatrical resume available upon request. She loves hiking, rock climbing, choral singing, indoor skydiving, juggling, drumming, archery, sunflowers, cacti, redwoods, wolves, falcons, tattoos, green tea ice cream, ginger beer, the SF Giants, the Kentucky Derby, classic Chanel, a nice Riesling (while finally learning to appreciate Pinot Noir) and a fine 1967 Ford Mustang. She's not sure how she feels about marathons but knows she doesn't like green apples. And yes, she really is only 5'2" and has never dyed her hair (in fact, yes everything is real). Special and profound thanks to Elizabeth Marx and Emily Blunt. And of course she takes the final critic speech in the movie RATATOUILLE* to heart, but also implores her fellow Angelenos not to give every single production a standing ovation. (And don't you sometimes think most of the IMDB reviews are written by studio employees?) *BTW: A favorite quote on this movie so far is a small child summing it up with: "The rats cooked." 'Nuff said.
Favorite Movies STAR TREK WRATH OF KHAN & VOYAGE HOME, ALL THAT JAZZ, GODFATHER sagas, FIELD OF DREAMS, THE NATURAL, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, THE ROOKIE (good baseball movies in general), THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE, GALAXY QUEST, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST (good westerns in general), ONCE, LOST IN TRANSLATION, LOR sagas, PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, DAY FOR NIGHT, a healthy appreciation for John Ford, John McTiernan, Akira Kurosawa, Hayao Miyazaki and more. TELEVISION SHOWS: STAR TREK, X-FILES, SOPRANOS, 24, ALIAS, LOST, BREAKING BAD, ABFAB, FAWLTY TOWERS, MONTY PYTHON, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, 8 SIMPLE RULES, SIMPSONS, SEINFELD, SEX AND THE CITY, 30 ROCK, PARKS AND REC, GILMORE GIRLS, BUNHEADS, MONK, SCRUBS, THE MIDDLE, RED DWARF, BUFFY/ANGEL, FIREFLY, STARGATE SG-1, STARGATE ATLANTIS, DARK MATTER, BEING HUMAN, TEEN WOLF, FRASIER, THE GOLDEN GIRLS, TAXI, THE MUPPET SHOW, COMMUNITY, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, PROJECT RUNWAY, DOWNTON ABBEY, THE CROWN, THE WEST WING, THE NEWSROOM, HOMELAND, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, WAREHOUSE 13, new DOCTOR WHO, TORCHWOOD, GAME OF THRONES, LAST WEEK TONIGHT, BIG BANG THEORY, RIZZOLI AND ISLES, BONES, GLEE, PSYCH, CHUCK, MOM, INSECURE, SHERLOCK, ELEMENTARY, THE MAGICIANS, STRANGER THINGS, A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, ORPHAN BLACK, LOST GIRL, WYNONA EARP, REBEL, THE EQUALIZER, THE MIGHTY JOHNSONS, VERONICA MARS, THIS IS US, PARENTHOOD, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, CRAZY EX BOYFRIEND, JANE THE VIRGIN, UGLY BETTY, RESIDENT ALIEN, IT CROWD, the MARVEL superheroes on Netflix & the DC superheroes on the CW, AGENTS OF SHIELD, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, MR. MERCEDES, THE WATCHMEN, BROOKLYN NINE-NINE, THE GOOD PLACE, SCHITT'S CREEK, SPEECHLESS, DERRY GIRLS, COBRA KAI, and DOWNWARD DOG.
Favorite Music Jazz: Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday; The Russians: Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev; various film soundtracks, a ton of various vocalists, and more. Oh and don't forget 80's "oldies" music.
Favorite Books LIFE OF PI by Yann Martel, THE SHIPPING NEWS by Annie Proulx, LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurty, WILD, yes and EAT PRAY LOVE too, MAUS by Art Spiegelman, JANE EYRE, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, lots of John Steinbeck and Jack London too. As well as King Arthur stories, Stephen King and Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN series - a life long affection for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy genre.