Check Out Kimberly Weinberger’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Weinberger. 

Hi Kimberly, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve been acting since I was a child. I was involved with community theatre in the Sacramento area where I grew up and participated in drama throughout middle and high school. I moved to San Diego for my undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts in 2012 and graduated in 2016. Since then, I’ve been dabbling in the theatre scene in San Diego working with theatre companies such as Coronado Playhouse, Patio Playhouse, and the Poolhouse Project. I’ve also worked on several shorts and feature films in California and in the local film community, including directing my own short film in 2019. I happened upon the casting call for LARPing with Trinity Theatre company online while I was living in New York for the summer. I was acquainted with co-directors Eddy Lukovic and Sean Boyd already, which motivated me to audition for the show. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Performing at Trinity Theatre Company in this world premiere production of LARPing while be my first time returning to theatre after a 3-year hiatus. Coming back to this area of performing was definitely daunting, but exciting. The production process has been really interesting because this is a brand-new work, and this is my first time being a part of a new work. There’s nothing we can read about or past performances we can research to gain insight into the text. So, we’ve had many discussions about discovery: What do we think certain things mean? How can we define these new characters? How can we do justice to the playwright’s work? It’s very exciting and also a lot of pressure because we have no idea how it will be received, and all we can do is our best. Furthermore, both myself and my counterpart, Jonny Taylor, play two different characters each in the show. Eddy talked to us a lot about defining the physical differences in these characters so there is a clear distinction between the two. I consider myself more of a cerebral/analytical actor, so building these separate characters from a physical base was unique to my process and really helpful in discovering who they are. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m an actor first and foremost. I love people. I love working with people and other creatives and building something collaboratively. I know that sounds so generic, but I truly think each individual is so unique and interesting, and I love that working in theatre gives me the opportunity to not only “be” different people for a while, but I also get to meet and spend time with all sorts on the production side as well. 

I tend to do a lot of dramatic roles for some reason, but there’s also so much joy that comes with doing a comedy, like LARPing, and the audience is laughing and being vocal and they’re invested in the story. Bringing this brand-new show to an audience has been so influential for me in understanding the story better, just by hearing how people react. 

Along with being an actor, I’ve also directed a couple of times. Once for stage, and more recently for my short film directorial debut in 2019. I wrote and directed my short film Phase for the Film Consortium Her Film Challenge which was a highly rewarding experience. It’s been a long time since I’ve written or directed, but luckily, I have a few scripts and screenplays on the back burner, and I’m starting to get the itch to try my hand at that again. 

What were you like growing up?
I always think of my younger self as kind of loud and obnoxious and weird! I can distinctly remember my poor mom on more than one occasion reminding me to have “more discretion” with people. Never learned, I guess! My parents begged me to get involved with a sport of some kind. My sister and I tried everything, but nothing stuck like my interest in theatre. I was truly lucky to meet a group of kids in high school who were very invested in the drama program. I always think of our little group as being so serious beyond our years with our productions. We took it so seriously and were so dedicated, and I think about that little portion of my life as being very formative for my future work ethic as an artist. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kimbaslice12
• Other: https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2000204?ref_=nm_nv_usr_profile

Image Credits
Tyler J. French
Monique French