Kate McLennan
Katherine McLennan (born 4 January 1980) is an Australian comedian, writer and actor living in Melbourne. McLennan performed in Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore, and she performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[1] Kate McLennan is best known in Australia for her work on various television programmes and web series including The Katering Show, Get Krack!n, and The Mansion.
| Kate McLennan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Katherine McLennan |
| Born | 4 January 1980 Mortlake, Victoria, Australia |
| Medium | Stand-up comedian, writer, actor |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Genres | observational comedy, character comedy, parody and satire |
| Partner(s) | Joel Elbourne |
| Children | 1 |
| Notable works and roles | The Katering Show Get Krack!n |
Career
McLennan moved to Geelong at the age of ten and a decade later she moved to Melbourne. She performed in her first sketch comedy show at the age of 21 at the 2001 Melbourne Fringe and appeared in the Fringe parade.[1] McLennan rose to fame writing and performing her solo comedy show The Debutante Diaries which won her the Best Comedy Award and Best Emerging Artist Award at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2006. [2] McLennan worked on a web-series titled Bleak with Kate McCartney in 2010 which won the Kit Denton Disfellowship for Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing in 2011.[3] McLennan and McCartney formed their production company called Lead Balloon TV and wrote, produced and starred as an intolerable foodie (McLennan) and a food intolerant (McCartney) in a cooking-based web-series called The Katering Show which screened on their YouTube channel in 2014. A second season of The Katering Show was screened on the ABC TV and then on ABC iview in 2016.
In 2017, McLennan and McCartney collaborated on another web-series called Get Krack!n playing exaggerated versions of themselves as breakfast show TV hosts, which screened in the US and on ABC iview.[4]
In July 2018, it was announced on Twitter that Get Krack!n would be back for a second season in early 2019.
Stand-up comedy tours
| Year | Title | Notes | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | The Hindsight Prophecies | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2002 | The Six | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2002 | The 666 | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2003 | Total Entertainments | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2005 | Henpecked | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2006 | The Wrong Night | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2006 | The Debutante Diaries | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2007 | The Debutante Diaries | Edinburgh Festival Fringe | Writer/performer |
| 2007 | The Enthusiasts | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2008 | Beaconsfield: the Musical | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2010 | I Coulda Been A Sailor | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2011 | Homeward Bound | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Writer/performer |
| 2012 | Comedy Festival Roadshow | Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow in Australia | Writer/performer |
| 2013 | Standard Double | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Writer/performer |
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | All The Way to the Top | Hayley | Actor |
| 2009 | Four Minutes of Fame | Karla Tutt | Actor |
| 2010 | Kwik Fix | Samara | Actor |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Stingers | Melissa | 1 episode |
| 2003 | MDA | Fan | 1 episode |
| 2005 | Let Loose Live | Writer/actor | 2 episodes |
| 2007-2011 | Dogstar | Simone (voice) | 52 episodes |
| 2008 | The Mansion | Writer/actor | 13 episodes |
| 2010 | Offspring | Café girl | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Ben Elton Live from Planet Earth | Actor | 3 episodes |
| 2012 | Exchange Student Zero | Charity (voice) | 1 episode |
| 2012 | Live on Bowen | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2013 | It's a Date | Jessica | 1 episode |
| 2013 | SlideShow | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2013 | You're Skitting Me | Writer | 13 episodes |
| 2013-2014 | Comedy Up Late | Herself | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | House Husbands | Skye | 1 episode |
| 2014-2015 | The Flamin' Thongs | Narelle Thong | 26 episodes |
| 2015 | Little Lunch | Writer | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Sammy J & Randy in Ricketts Lane | Megan | 1 episode |
| 2014-2015 | Winners and Losers | Kathryn Piper | 3 episodes |
| 2015 | Comedy Showroom - Bleak | Writer/ Actor (Anna O’Brien) | 1 episode |
| 2015 | Slumber Party | Writer | 1 episode |
| 2015 | In The Zone IV | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2016 | The Katering Show (season 2) | Writer/ Producer/ Herself | 8 episodes |
| 2016 | Dogstar: Christmas in Space | Simone Clark/ Celeste Sharp (voices) | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Get Krack!n | Writer/ Producer/ Herself | 8 episodes |
| 2017 | Have You Been Paying Attention? | Herself/ Guest Quiz Master | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Sherazade: The Untold Stories | Peribanu (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2018 | Sando | Writer | 6 episodes |
| 2018 | Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Hughesy, We Have a Problem | Herself | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Celebrity Name Game | Herself | 1 episode |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Bleak- The Web Series | Writer/Actor (Anna) | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | The Katering Show (season 1) | Writer/ Producer/ Herself | 6 episodes |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Kit Denton Disfellowship | For Courage and Excellence in Performance Writing | Bleak (web-series) | Won | Shared with Kate McCartney | [3][5] |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Best Comedy Award | The Debutante Diaries | Won | Writer, performer | [6] |
| 2006 | Melbourne Fringe Festival | Best Emerging Artist Award | The Debutante Diaries | Won | Writer, performer | [6] |
| 2007 | SA Theatre Guide | Best Comedy Award | The Debutante Diaries | Nominated | Writer, performer | |
| 2007 | Short and Sweet Festival | Best Actress | All The Way to the Top | Nominated | Writer, performer | |
| 2007 | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Barry Award for Best Show | The Debutante Diaries | Nominated | Writer, performer | [7] |
| 2011 | The Age | M-IE Award for Rising Comedy Star | The Debutante Diaries | Won | Writer, performer | [2] |
| 2013 | Melbourne International Comedy Festival | Golden Gibbo Award for Best Show | Standard Double | Nominated | Writer, performer | [8] |
References
- Bastow, Clem (30 December 2011). "My Melbourne: Kate McLennan". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- Staff writer, The Age (20 November 2011). "It's the third annual M-ie awards". The Age. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- Swift, Brendan (26 September 2011). "AWGIE Award Winners Announced". IF. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- Moran, Rob (16 February 2017). "The Katering Show's Kates to tackle breakfast TV in new ABC series Get Krack!n". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- Staff writer, The Wheeler Centre. "Kate McCartney". The Wheeler Centre. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- Atkins, Jo (2012). "Talented Comedian Kate McLennan". Port Macquarie Focus. Creative House Publications Pty Ltd. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- Platt, Craig (23 April 2007). "Barry Nominees Announced". The Age. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
- Staff writer, Squirrel Comedy (21 April 2013). "Winners of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2013". Squirrel Comedy. Retrieved 14 November 2017.