Katie Wolfe
Katie Wolfe (born 1968) is New Zealand actor and film and stage director. She was in the New Zealand television series Marlin Bay in the 1990s, Shortland Street in the late 1990s and Mercy Peak for two years (2000 - 2001). Her screen directing work has won several awards including Redemption at the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival and This Is Her at the Prague International Short Film Festival. Her current creative work is writing and directing a stage play called The Haka Party Incident. Programmed by festivals through New Zealand across 2020 - 2023
Biography
Katie Wolfe was born in New Plymouth in 1968, the daughter of Neil and Raewyn Wolfe and has three siblings. She is affiliated with the Taranaki iwi Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama.[1] In 1986 she enrolled at Victoria University and graduated with a BA in English. She graduated from New Zealand acting school Toi Whakaari in 1990.[2]
Career
Wolfes first professional acting job was at Dunedin's Fortune Theatre, followed by several episodes of NHNZ's children's nature series Wild Track, as the presenter.[2]
Her first television role was in 1992 as Ginny Gannaway on the series Marlin Bay, a role which lasted three years, and her big screen debut was in The Last Tattoo (1994) directed by John Reid, in which she played the New Zealand missing girlfriend of an American World War II soldier .[2]
Wolfe has directed film and theatre. Her first two short films This is Her and Redemption both premiered at Sundance, and went on to screen in Berlinale, New York and Telluride. Her first feature-length film, titled Kawa, was an adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's book, Nights in the Gardens of Spain.[2]
Wolfe joined seven other Māori women to direct the omnibus film, Waru (2017). Each woman contributed a 10-minute segment of events circling around the tangi of a boy named Waru. After its debut at the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival, Waru screened at the Toronto Film Festival and ImagineNATIVE festivals.[3]
Live plays Wolfe has directed include The Haka Party Incident a play about race relations based on a true event at Auckland University in 1979 when a group of engineering students doing a mock haka were finally challenged Māori activists. Wolfe also wrote this work and first showed a development of it in 2017. It is programmed in the New Zealand Festival in 2022.[4][5] It has been programmed by a number of festivals throughout New Zealand (Te Tairāwhiti Festival, Auckland Festival, Tauranga Arts Festival, RESET Festival in Taranaki, Nelson Arts Festival) but has not always been able to be presented due to Covid 19 restrictions.[6][7][8][9]
Filmography - screen credits
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Last Tattoo | Rose Mitchell | |
| 1994 | La vie en rose | Audrey Foggin | |
| 1995 | Lemming Aid | Short | |
| 1996 | Planet Man | E.T. | short |
| 2000 | The Irrefutable Truth About Demons | Bennie | |
| 2011 | The Off Season | Short | |
| 2016 | Ukaipo Whenua | Short |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Marlin Bay | Ginny Gannaway | TV series |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Anna (age 18-22) | "Some Live Like Lazarus" |
| 1996 | Cover Story | TV series | |
| 1997-98 | Shortland Street | Dr. Bridget Hastings | Regular role |
| 1999 | Duggan | Brenda Marshall | "Food to Die For" |
| 1999 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Arciana | "Be Deviled" |
| 2001-03 | Mercy Peak | Amanda Masefield | Recurring role |
| 2016 | The Brokenwood Mysteries | Nicole | "The Black Widower" |
Other work
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-07 | Shortland Street | Director (3 episodes) |
| 2004 | Living the Dream | Director, TV series |
| 2008 | This Is Her | Director, short film |
| 2009 | Go Girls | Director (4 episodes) |
| 2010 | Redemption | Director & Writer, short film |
| 2010 | Kawa | Director |
| 2010-12 | Shortland Street | Producer (59 episodes) |
| 2017 | Waru | Co-Director & Co-Writer |
Theatre
Directing
Wolfe has directed a number of plays including:
- Luncheon (2014) by Aroha Awarau, at the Basement Theatre, Auckland.[10] Starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand[11]
- The Haka Party Incident (2017) written and directed by Katie Wolfe. Verbatim theatre, produced by Auckland Theatre Company.[5]
- Anahera (2017) by Emma Kinane. Circa Theatre, Wellington.[12]
- The Haka Party Incident (2020) (revision) written and directed by Katie Wolfe. Produced by Auckland Theatre Company.[13]
Acting Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The God Boy | Molly | Downstage Theatre |
| 2000 | Haruru Mai | Paloma | NZ International Festival |
| 2001 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | NZ Actors Company |
| 2002 | Queen Leah | Edgmar | NZ Actors Company |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | New Zealand Film and TV Awards | Best Female Performance in Supporting Role - Film | The Last Tattoo | Nominated |
| 1995 | New Zealand Film and Television Awards | Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role - Television | Marlin Bay | Nominated |
| 1997 | TV Guide Television Awards | Best Actress | Cover Story, episode 7 | Won |
| 2008 | New Zealand Film and TV Awards | Film Award for Best Short Film | This Is Her | Nominated |
| 2008 | Antipodes Film Festival, St Tropez | Nicolas Baudin Award for Best Short Film | This Is Her | Won |
| 2008 | Prague International Short Film Festival | Best Audience Film Award | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Filmets - Badalona Short Film Festival | Venus de Badalona for Best Short Film | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Aspen Shortsfest | Jury Award for Best Comedy | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Hamptons International Film Festival[14] | Audience Award for Best Short | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Palm Springs Shortfest | Future Filmmaker Award | Won | |
| 2010 | Show Me Shorts Film Festival | Best Film | This Is Her | Won |
| 2010 | ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival | Jury Award for Best Short Drama | Redemption | Won |
| 2010 | ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival | Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award for Emerging Talent | Redemption | Won |
| 2011 | Sundance Film Festival | Short Filmmaking Award in International | Redemption | Nominated |
Personal life
Wolfe married fellow actor Tim Balme in 1994, and together they have two children. Wolfe also has a step-son.[15]
References
- Dann, Jennifer (25 September 2017). "Twelve questions: Why Katie Wolfe left Shortland Street - and what she's doing now". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- "NZ on Screen". NZ on Screen.com. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- "Waru". NZOnScreen. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- "The Haka Party Incident". Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "The Haka Party Incident". Auckland Theatre Company. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- "The Haka Party Incident ⋆ Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival 2021". Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "The Haka Party Incident | 30 March - 10 April, ASB Waterfront Theatre". ASB Waterfront Theatre. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "The Haka Party Incident". RESET 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "THE HAKA PARTY INCIDENT | By Katie Wolfe". Nelson Arts Festival. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- "Aroha Awarau". Playmarket. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - "Interview: Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Katie Wolfe on the play Luncheon". Now To Love. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Smythe, John (10 September 2017). "ANAHERA - Inescapable truths honoured with compelling integrity". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - Zealand (www.bka.co.nz), Site designed and developed by bka interactive ltd, Auckland, New. "The Haka Party Incident". www.atc.co.nz. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- "Hamptons International Film Fest winners announced". 27east.com. 13 October 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- Virginia Winder (12 December 2003). "Katie Wolfe's Dramatic Life... So Far". Pukeariki.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2011.