NK’s Kohut living his dream

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/07/2016 (3413 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

North Kildonan’s Jeffrey Kohut is in the middle of a dream come true.

The veteran actor and performer is playing a key role in developing future generations of Winnipeg’s theatre community through Rainbow Stage’s education and outreach programs.

It’s a role he said he was born to play, and Rainbow Stage is where he was meant to play it.

Kohut, 39, has been performing under the dome since 1998, appearing in 18 productions, including the scarecrow in Wizard of Oz, Reuben in Joseph’s Dreamcoat, and Ethan in The Full Monty.

Even as a young performer, Kohut said he was curious about all aspects of theatre production, including lighting and set design.

“On production breaks I’d ask departments questions. I always was watching and listening to see how everything worked.”

That curiosity has started to pay dividends as Kohut becomes more involved offstage, whether it be producing and choreographing shows through his White Rabbit Theatre Company or as part of the creative team at Rainbow Stage, where he made his debut this summer assisting mentor Carson Nattrass in Ring of Fire.

Kohut said he feels right at home with Rainbow Stage’s creative and outreach teams.

“What I really love to do is organizing, education and outreach, I’m extremely passionate about it. If I’m not working for myself teaching or with White Rabbit, Rainbow Stage is where I want to be. I just love it.

“Having been here for two decades I know what is possible.”

Those possibilities include fostering a vibrant presence in the community and growing the local talent base, a vision which began under former Rainbow Stage artistic director Ken Peter, another of Kohut’s mentors, and continues under current artistic director Ray Hogg.

“In 2012, Ray Hogg saw the need to be doing more education, outreach, and professional development in the community, so he began building programs from the top down,” Kohut explained.

The Rainbow Stage Music Theatre Conservatory was created by Hogg in 2012 with the aim of becoming an international hub for post graduate music theatre arts training. It provides paid training and free professional development opportunities in Winnipeg.

Kohut said it’s important to grow the pipeline of talent in all aspects of the theatre, and for that talent to have as many opportunities as possible here at home.

Ultimately, if you foster an appreciation for the arts, more people will participate, whether as spectators, designers, or performers, Kohut said. Rainbow Stage brings those opportunities to children through teen conferences and Camp Rainbow, Rainbow Stage’s series of weeklong summer camps.

Camp Rainbow teaches kids about acting, singing and dancing, while the teen conferences, for $8 a day, provide workshops in everything from lighting and song writing to directing and set building.

“In each one of those workshops they were learning, cumulatively what it took me 20 years to learn,” Kohut said.

Kohut spoke on the day after Ring of Fire’s final production. Hours later Rainbow Stage was already buzzing with activity as staff began preparations for Shrek the Musical, which opens on Aug. 11.

Kohut moves at a similar pace. There’s last-minute details to wrap up with Ring of Fire, Camp Rainbow to run, and White Rabbit’s fringe festival production of Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown’s Songs for a New World.

He wouldn’t change a thing, Kohut added.

“It’s thrilling. It’s a life goal and it’s happening. Whatever I’m giving I’m getting even more back.”

Facebook.com/TheHeraldWPG
Twitter: @HeraldWPG