Stage and screen performer Kate Woods will appear alongside a Hollywood ensemble in a charity gala benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation, featuring Ed Begley Jr. and his daughter Hayden.
“When he gives me direction or gives me a note, he doesn’t have to say a lot anymore,” Woods said. “It’s understood. It’s unspoken.”— Kate WoodsLOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, July 13, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The performer reflects on bringing a misunderstood character to life, her enduring creative partnership with Director Stuart Rogers, the deeper meaning behind adopting the name Kate Woods, and how life and artistry are converging during this transformative period.
For Kate Woods, this moment is charged with anticipation. It marks a period of transformation. A journey of personal discovery expressed through performance. And when she walks onto the stage at North Hollywood’s historic El Portal Theatre on July 23, audiences will experience her singular interpretation of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Proof.
Directed by Stuart Rogers, this benefit presentation is scheduled for a short run of four performances from July 23 through July 26. The cast of Proof includes Ed Begley Jr. and his daughter Hayden Begley, with Woods taking on the role of Claire. All proceeds from the production will support the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.
Although Woods had previous familiarity with the character Claire from earlier stagings and conservatory work, the current project’s timing — paired with what she called a more “modern” interpretation from Rogers — has allowed her to reshape the role in ways that subvert audience expectations.
She noted that Claire is often perceived by viewers as an antagonist; the story’s “villain.”
Yet Woods insists the part carries far greater nuance. Having first encountered Proof as a younger performer, she admitted she once held critical views of both Claire and the play itself. Returning to the material now, with additional life experience, has completely altered that outlook.
“I’m not going to give a lot away, but there’s a lot more to Claire,” Woods said. “And I think by the end, especially with our interpretation and what I’m bringing to it, I think people are going to see another side of the story, and Stuart’s doing an excellent job allowing both Hayden and myself to bring a lot of our personal experience and a lot of our personalities to the character.”
Woods explained that performing this role during her present stage of life has enabled her to infuse the character with greater compassion and emotional nuance than she could have managed years earlier.
“Now I completely understand it,” she said. “So it’s been kind of a healing journey for me; for young Kate to come full circle and do this in my way.”
That personal evolution, she added, is deeply connected to her 14-year mentorship with Rogers. Having effectively come of age within his studio, she accepted his invitation to join Proof without any hesitation. Their connection has matured into an intuitive understanding.
“When he gives me direction or gives me a note, he doesn’t have to say a lot anymore,” Woods said. “It’s understood. It’s unspoken.”
The production’s themes have also resonated with Woods’ life away from the stage. As she prepares for marriage and a name transition from Kate Spare to Kate Woods, she observed that the play mirrors her own period of change. The character Claire is engaged in the narrative, and Woods said that similarity has allowed her to channel the pressures and emotions of wedding preparations directly into her performance.
“I will say that’s been a fun parallel because I’m going, ‘okay, well, it’s fine’,” she said. “When I’m getting stressed about what’s happening out here, it’s fine. I’ll just put it right back into the work.”
She also noted that the play’s exploration of sisterhood has connected with her own thoughts on family, especially her bond with her older sibling.
“So my life and this play are getting a little bit blurred at the moment,” she said. “…But it’s been very fun… It’s a busy time, but I’m happy to be doing all of this.”
This merging extends to her evolving sense of self. Woods described becoming Kate Woods as something beyond a simple surname change. She called it an “energy shift” — a method of releasing the old and moving more completely into the next chapter of her life and profession.
“It’s not like I’ve changed my whole personality or anything,” Woods said. “I’m still me; I just needed to step into the next phase to level up. And this play is leveling me up.”
Working alongside what she described as a legacy family has also been significant, she said, particularly as each cast member continues to develop under Rogers’ guidance, all united toward a larger purpose.
“All of us have become very, very close, but we’ve also realized that this isn’t just for us,” she said, referring to the show’s beneficiary, the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
“We’ve taken ego and the actor thing out of it… Once you take yourself out of it, and kind of see the big picture of what this really is for, then it removes any sense of anxiety or nervousness about trying to nail things and get it right,” Woods said.
For Woods, that evolution sits at the core of the entire experience — in her artistry, her connections, and her identity. She stated that the role arrived at precisely the right moment, when both her craft and her life were prepared to intersect.
“Sometimes the work aligns, the timing clicks, and suddenly you realize you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be,” Woods said. “No chasing, no forcing — just the universe being a little dramatic and handing me exactly what I needed.”
Author Byline: Renee N. Fernandez Schiavone
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