Kara Young | |
---|---|
Born | Kara Young |
Alma mater | New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts |
Occupation | Actress |
Kara Young[1] is an American actress. She has been nominated twice for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: in 2022 for her role of Letitia in Clyde's and in 2023 for her role of Jess in Cost of Living.
Young was born and raised in Harlem in New York City.[2] Both of her parents emigrated from Belize. Her father, Klay Young, began working in the Rainbow Room in 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1992 as a server and later captain (a place where Kara would eventually attend a special event for Tony Award nominees).[1] Her mother worked in health administration in Bellevue Hospital.[1]
Young had an interest in performing from the age of five, when she learned to mime in an afterschool program at the 92nd Street Y.[3] She briefly went to Gettysburg College and the City College of New York before studying at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, where she graduated.[2][4] She studied traditional theater in Thailand for a month in 2008.[2]
Young joined the LAByrinth Theater Company in 2017.[2] She has appeared off-Broadway in plays such as NSangou Njikam's Syncing Ink, Jonathan Payne's The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd, Stephen Adly Guirgis's Halfway Bitches Go Straight To Heaven (a LAByrinth co-production), Jeff Augustin's The New Englanders, and C.A. Johnson's All the Natalie Portmans.[2][5][6] A Times review of her starring role in All the Natalie Portmans wrote that Young "can fit what feels like a mountain of blood, heart, sinew and febrile emotional response into a frame that can't stretch past five feet".[6] Young often plays characters much younger than herself, adolescents or even preadolescents, something attributed in part to her small size and wide-set eyes.[2]
In November 2021, Young made her Broadway debut at the Hayes Theater playing a single mother, Letitia, in Lynn Nottage's play Clyde's.[3] The Times called her performance "superb".[7] At the 75th Tony Awards, she was nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Clyde's.[8]
In 2022, Young played a caregiver, Jess, in Martyna Majok's play Cost of Living at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway.[9] At the 76th Tony Awards, she was again nominated for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Cost of Living.[10]
Year | Title | Role | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
2016 | Pretty Hunger[11] | Lea | The Public Theater |
2017 | Syncing Ink[12] | Alley Theatre | |
2018 | The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd[13] | Karma | The Duke on 42nd Street |
2019 | The New Englanders[5] | Eisa | New York City Center |
Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven[14] | Lil Melba Diaz | Linda Gross Theatre | |
2020 | All the Natalie Portmans[15] | Keyonna | Susan and Ronald Frankel Theater |
2021–2022 | Clyde's[3] | Letitia | Hayes Theater |
2022 | Twelfth Night[16] | Viola | Classical Theatre of Harlem |
Cost of Living[9] | Jess | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre | |
2023 | Purlie Victorious[3] | Lutiebell Gussie Mae Jenkins | Music Box Theater |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | Innovative Theatre Awards[17] | Outstanding Actress in a Featured Role | In the Event of My Death | Nominated |
2020 | Antonyo Awards[18] | Best Actor in a Play Off-Broadway | All the Natalie Portmans | Nominated |
AUDELCO Awards[19] | Special Achievement Award | Won | ||
Lucille Lortel Awards[20] | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play | All the Natalie Portmans | Nominated | |
2022 | Actors' Equity Foundation Awards[21] | Clarence Derwent Award | Clyde's | Won |
Antonyo Awards[22] | Best Featured Actor in a Play (Broadway) | Nominated | ||
Drama Desk Award[23] | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Nominated | ||
Lilly Awards[24] | Stacey Mindich Go Work in Theater Award | Won | ||
Tony Awards[8] | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Clyde's | Nominated | |
2023 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lead Performance In A Play | Twelfth Night | Nominated |
Outstanding Featured Performance In A Play | Cost of Living | Nominated | ||
Obie Award[25] | Performance | Twelfth Night | Won | |
Tony Awards[10] | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Cost of Living | Nominated |