Introducing your Director
Theatre on Tap is thrilled to introduce Kim Simbeck, our Comedy of Errors director. We asked some get-to-know-you questions, and we know you’ll love them as much as we do!
An interview with Kim Simbeck
Introduce yourself!
My name is Kim, I am a performer from Cleveland, Ohio.
How long have you been doing theatre?
I started performing gymnastics at age 2, ballet and tap at 3, and then began doing theatre when I was 5, so 35 years (I’m old, what can I say).
How did you first get started?
I have always gone to art schools and been very dramatic (if you know me, you are completely shocked by that). 5-year-old Kim was not very good at making friends and talking to people of my age, so our lunch room monitor saw this and decided to hook me up with the three most popular girls in my class to sit next to at lunch. They were so nice to me and I got so excited thinking I had finally found friends. The next day, while I was standing in the lunch line to get my school-provided lunch, the “Gretchen” of the clique (If you get this reference, we can be best friends) told me that the “Regina” had saved me the seat right next to her. (My first missed red flag—they all packed their lunches and wouldn’t be caught dead with a school lunch.) When I got to the table with the connected stools, the stool next to Regina had been sawed completely away, leaving 5-year-old me devastated as they laughed at me. Now I know what you’re thinking: how does this get me involved in theatre?
As I said, I went to art school. After school curricular clubs, like the theatre group (called the Bakers Dozen, which is clever given our school’s name) could only be joined when you were in 3rd grade. But our teacher was casting the Christmas Pageant and decided that the reindeer would be played by kindergarteners. I heard “Regina” and the other mean girls talking, and heard “Regina” boast that she was going to be Rudolph and they could be her backups. 5-year-old me was petty (a trait I have cultivated over the years) and decided that it would be me who played Rudolph and she could be my backup.
So I was cast as Rudolph, with a blinking blue nose (it was the 90s, I’m old, and it was a Cleveland Public School so, budgets). From the first moment I came on stage I knew that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
What are some of your favorite shows you’ve worked on?
I was able to star with my mom in a production of The Glass Menagerie. It was a dream of mine to get to do a show with her and all while performing one of my dream roles. Looking back now that she’s gone, I cherish those moments more and more. I’ve performed with some really cool places and people like the Ohio Opera, Karamu House, Dobama, The Cleveland Playhouse, Playhouse Square, The Idea Center, Kaiser Permanente, Off-Broadway, and Josh Groban all before I graduated high school. I’ve done so many shows I’ve been so proud of, both on and offstage, and I always feel so honored to be a part of the art.
What is your earliest theatre memory (in the audience or part of the show)?
I grew up with parents who were considerably older than my peers so I grew up with old Hollywood movie musicals and plays. My parents read to me and let me experience the world through movies and musicals I probably shouldn’t have enjoyed. My dad still makes fun of me for loving to watch The Lawrence Welk Show on Saturday nights at my grandmother’s house. My mom and I would read Shakespeare plays and give everyone their own voices, and I remember watching the Zeffirelli Romeo and Juliet and loving What Is a Youth so much that the first time I ever went to Playhouse Square and they still had a gift shop I bought my mom a small wind up music box that played it.
Who would you say has been most impactful on your theatre journey?
My mom for sure, because she always supported my theatrical-ness. When I told her I wanted to do this with my life, she was nothing but supportive. She put me in vocal lessons, dance classes, helped me make every dream I ever had come true. I also would be remiss to not mention Jimmy Woody and Laura Sherwin who were both vital in my shaping as a performer and who I wouldn’t be anywhere without.
And then of course Geoff Knox and Lara Mielcarek who were my professors at Cleveland State and who have become friends in the ensuing years. I gained so much wisdom and knowledge from taking classes with them, but also just being in their orbit on different shows over the years. Sharing a space with them, as an actor, board op, stage manager or anything else is always a privilege.
Do you prefer Shakespeare’s dramas, comedies or problem plays?
I guess technically the problem plays, because one of my favorite shows is Measure for Measure. But I think there is a time and place for each show. Sometimes you want to see someone get what’s coming to them, and sometimes you just want to see a bunch of fairies making mischief on a group of lovers.
Shakespeare has clearly stood the test of time. How do you feel Shakespeare is still relevant to today’s audiences?
I think we get so consumed with the idea that Shakespeare is hard to understand and scary that we forget that it’s real and relevant. No matter what it may say about us, people have always been people. The things Shakespeare was writing about are still so real even now. There is a Shakespeare for everything and a Shakespearean dick joke to go along with it. Plus, let’s be honest, the man threw an insult like no other.
If you could be a part of a Broadway revival of any show, what would it be and why?
Definitely Spamalot. Someday I will play the Lady of the Lake and get to do my best diva impression.
If you could play any role, regardless of gender or age, what would it be?
I’d love to play both roles in The Last 5 Years. I’ve always wanted to do that show with two actors who learn both tracks and at the beginning of the show they pull from a hat who they’re going on for the night. I think it’s an interesting show to flip genders and even sexuality on.
Besides theatre, what are you into?
More theatre? I love music (writing and listening), dancing, reading and writing. I enjoy being creative. One of the things that has always drawn me to theatre is that it was a way to never have to give up on anything. As long as I can write it, or perform it or read it, I can be anything in the world.
What are you most looking forward to with directing The Comedy of Errors with Theatre on Tap?
Truthfully, when I was asked to direct this show I almost pissed myself. Directing had long been a trauma thing for me, and I had just written in my bullet journal the night before that I was going to do something that scared me. I think that I’m excited to give myself permission to love something again, to enjoy something that someone else’s actions had taken away from me. I’m also just so excited about the cast of people that are performing this. These are people that I genuinely admire, and wanted to work with and I can’t wait to hopefully foster something beautiful.
What do you hope the audience takes away from the show?
I hope that we have a good time, and we tell a good story. A lot of The Comedy of Errors is funny, but it’s rooted in a lot of misfortune so I hope that we can give it the dues it deserves as well as really play with the funny elements. I think we’ve got great ideas and I can’t wait to see them up on their feet.