Emmy-winning actor Kim Estes is the 2023 Jerry Harper Service Award Recipient.

by Dawson Moore  |   

three men walking outsideEmmy-winning actor Kim Estes is the 2023 Jerry Harper Service Award Recipient.

It will be presented at the 2023 Valdez Theatre Conference (VTC) on Saturday, June 17. This award is presented annually to people who have gone above and beyond in service to the VTC and its participants. Kim will be its twentieth recipient since it was started in 2007.

Kim first attended the VTC in 2004, immediately making an impact on multiple fronts, which he has continued doing for nearly twenty years. Primarily, of course, is his acting. He brings gravitas, intelligence, and charisma to every role and is a pleasure to work with. Over the past 18 years, he's brought many roles to life for the VTC in the Play Lab, the Ten-Minute Play Slam, the Valdez Theatre Fringe, and multiple evening performances. He joined the Featured ­Artist staff in 2008 and was one of the principal teachers in the Acting for Singers Workshop (2010-13).

Kim worked for many years as a Chief Engineer in the oil industry. He was immediately tapped by VTC founder PWSC President Emeritus Jo Ann C. McDowell to be a charming go-between for the array of American theatre titans she had assembled to the friends and industry benefactors. Throughout its history, the VTC has enjoyed support from our community's leading industry. Kim's comfort in both worlds was invaluable during the transition in college leadership in 2005.

Kim received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series in 2017 and brought his statue to Valdez to encourage others to see what is possible for them in their careers. He has many major film, television, and theatre credits, but in Valdez, he is always a modest, positive, and talented ensemble member. He has given to the VTC artistically, socially, and financially for nearly two decades, and we are proud to be honoring him in 2023.