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Sept. 13, 2013
Dynamic, on stage and off
Attila Kállai is in United Players’ The Habit of Art.
OLGA LIVSHIN
Attila Kállai calls himself a character actor, someone who pre- dominantly plays quirky or eccentric characters. Indeed, such characters are Kállai’s staple. “All my characters are people with a problem, not everyday persons,” he told the Independent. “They are all unusual, and when I become my character, it’s my imagination at work. For example, I’ve never been a rabbit, but I can play a rabbit. Not many actors can do what I can, so finding jobs is not an issue. I don’t have much competition in Vancouver.”
He joked that acting must be in his blood. “My mother was a ballerina, and my uncle an actor in Hungary.” Kállai himself was very young, about Grade 4, when he first participated in a theatrical production at school. “It was The Sound of Music,” he remembered. “I loved it very much. I wanted to do more so I participated in other school productions. I wasn’t thinking of a career, I just liked acting for fun.”
As he accumulated acting experience, school shows stopped satisfying his ambition. “It was too easy at school. Everyone was already a friend, but I wanted to see if I could do it with people I didn’t know. I wanted a challenge. I started going to auditions outside of school.”
Professional roles began piling up, but they weren’t the only benefit for the young actor; not the most coveted benefit, either. “I wanted to be with people who thought and felt the way I did. We discussed life and communications and theatre. Theatre people like to talk, to connect, to discover who we are.”
Kállai found a place among his theatrical confederates, but starring on stage or in front of the camera wasn’t his main goal. “I wanted to be part of the theatrical community, to help,” he explained. He did any job that needed doing in a performance, in both live theatre and film. Among his credits are editor and cinematographer, director and special effects, crew and production manager.
In everything he does, Kállai said he remains professional and reliable, and his reputation has become his best reference. “I go to very few auditions now,” he said. “People know me. They call and offer me jobs because they know: I will always show up on time, always come prepared. I put all my energy, all of myself into what I do. Theatre is my life. I love performing arts, every part of it.”
In addition to theatre and acting, one of the performing arts most attractive to Kállai is independent filmmaking. He has his own company, Atka Film, which creates all kinds of short independent movies. “I started the company for class around 2000, but it turned into something more serious. We have a team and we work together on projects we’re passionate about. It’s not just for the money, but to engage our viewers in conversation. We’re activists. In our films, we explore issues that matter, like the environment, pollution or addiction. Right now, I’m directing a project about male anorexia. Not many know about it, but it [can] be a serious problem.”
Atka films have been screened at various festivals and community events.
Kállai also performs for schoolchildren, another avenue to engage directly with the community. He has been collaborating as an actor with a couple of local troupes specializing in school shows across the province. One year, he taught drama at an elementary school, and he recalled the experience with nostalgia. “The students taught me an important lesson. I was becoming too serious in my work as an actor, forgetting how to laugh, and they reminded me that theatre is fun.”
Kállai’s latest engagement is with the United Players, playing the role of an assistant stage manager in the Canadian première of The Habit of Art by Alan Bennett. Written in 2009, the play focuses on a fictional meeting between two real men, the poet W.H. Auden and the composer Benjamin Britten. Funny and poignant, the play is a multi-leveled contemplation on the themes of art and homosexuality, words and music, aging and theatre. It is a play within a play, a rehearsal of a fictitious drama that might or might not have happened.
“The lead characters are real-life celebrities,” said Kállai. “The play explores the question of what is art and how it interacts with life. Art is not a choice. For an actor, it’s the way of life. It’s always with you. This play is a reflection of ourselves, the actors, the creators…. My role is supporting, with few words, but I’m on stage the whole time. I play an assistant manager in a theatre, and I was an assistant manager in real-life productions, so I know what the job demands. I have to know everything about both plays – the fictional one and the real one. It takes lots of work and lots of study on my part.”
The play, directed by William B. Davis, runs until Sept. 29 at Jericho Arts Centre.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
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