Price Coetzee

Price Coetzee (1946-) is a multilingual South African born actor, designer and director, working much of his life in US theatre, television and film.

Biography and Training

He was born and grew up on Killarney Farm, Stickland, Cape Town, and was educated at a little farm school in the immediate area (later named Excelsior Primary, having moved to Belgravia , and finally to its present location in De la Haye Estate). This was followed by Bellville High School.

He has had a very long "love affair" with Hollywood, seeing at least 3 movies per week as a teen - a love that he says started when he first saw Carol Reed's The Third Man at the age of five.

He received his initial theatre training in 1968 when he worked as a "Special Drama Student" with the staff of the H.B. Thom Theatre and Drama Department under the umbrella of the University of Stellenbosch, where he was mentored by, inter alia, Tine Balder, Jos de Bruyn, Rina Botha, Gisela Taeger, Limpie Basson and Ben Dehaeck.

He later also spent two years in London, where he trained at The Drama Studio, London (1974/5) as well as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1974) and, after his move to the USA, he did a Master Class with Lee Strasberg at the Lee Strassberg Theater Institute (California, 1977).

Career

Worked in South Africa as an actor and costume designer from 1968 to 1976, then became an Acting and Movement Coach at the Maas-Phillips Studio in Cape Town (February 1977 – April 1977), before moving to the USA.

In the USA he did some stage work as actor, producer and director, and ended up working in Studio operations with NBC/Universal for over 30 years, until February 2011. While he was a working member of Motion Picture Costumers (IATSE # 705) from 1982 through 2007, he also spent a period in their Costume Department (1982 through 1991).

After his retirement, in 2011, became an independent dramaturge working in theatre, television and film.

His memberships of professional associations inlcude being a National Voting Member (Costume Design/Supervisors) of ATAS (Television Academy) since 1987 and a member of SAG-AFTRA (The Screen Actors Guild).

Stage work in South Africa

He worked in Pretoria for PACT from January 1969 through December 1970 (Die Koopman van Venesië (Breytenbach Theatre- Pretoria; Alexander Theatre - Johannesburg), Kinkels in die Kabel (an adaptation A Comedy of Errors, 1969/1970), Die Sirkusavontuur (1969), Sextet (1969), Sinbad, the Sailor (1970), Drie Susters (1970), etc.

Worked for CAPAB from January 1971 through December 1972 (Nico Malan Theatre Premieres of Koning Lear and Hond se Gedagte both directed by Dieter Reible. He acted in Die Burgemeester (Hofmann, 1971) and Die Brandstigters (Frisch, 1972). He acted in and designed costumes for Bart Nel, KRUIK, 1972 and did experimental work at the Hofmeyr Theatre, (including Die Twee Laksmanne by Fernando Arrabal), etc.; also Moeder Courage directed by Truida Louw with Anna Neethling-Pohl. KRUIK also staged their own production with Babs Laker.

He now turned freelance, working for various companies, doing, inter alia, Hamlet (PACOFS and CAPAB, 1973), Feydeau's Hond se Gedagte (PACOFS and PACT, 1973); Moeder Courage (1973), Saturday, Sunday, Monday (NAPAC, 1976) and the revivals and touring productions of Faan se Trein and Faan se Stasie (Lake Theatre, Johannesburg 1976).

Stage work abroad

Performed in Adam Darius's[1] mixed media work Marilyn (Arts Theatre, London, 1975), a mixed media piece, originally conceived as a ballet, but with elements of mime and dance drama included.

In 1981 he was part of a small theatre group which Charles Marowitz had tried to establish in Hollywood, but this did not last long.

As a producer and director he was responsible for a number of theatrical works in the 1980s, including Eduardo Manet's The Nuns (Cast Theatre, Hollywood, November, 1977), the West Coast Premiére of Robin Maugham's Enemy! (Cast Theatre, Hollywood, November 1984-February 1985), US Premiére of Chronological Worry by Sarah D. Witten, (The Whitefire Theatre, Sherman Oaks, CA, 1987).