Kolack plays his cards right with role in 'Odd Couple'

Downers Grove resident Greg Kolack has made his living in theater since he was 19, working in every conceivable position on or offstage.

"I have done make up," Kolack says, "I have done lights. I am a carpenter. I don't for the life of me pretend to be a set designer, but I have built simple sets. I worked in the box office. I often say the only thing I haven't done in the theater is make costumes."

Mostly, though, he directs and acts, and he is currently starring as one of Oscar and Felix's poker buddies in Raven Theatre's production of "The Odd Couple."

Kolack came by his versatility over time.

Growing up in Brookfield, he was drawn to theater as a kid through his interest in the classic horror movies of Universal Studios - including "Frankenstein" and "The Mummy." As a preteen Kolack began experimenting with recreating the look of those movie monsters, going so far as to learn the techniques of legendary Hollywood makeup man Dick Smith (known for creating makeup for films like "The Godfather" and "The Exorcist").

His interest mutated in high school into an interest in all aspects of theater. Kolack began working professionally "right out of high school" at the now defunct Candlelight Playhouse. At the time, he was planning to study theater in college but realized "it made much more sense to get paid to learn about theater than to pay to learn."

He kept working, picking up every odd job that came along.

"I have literally been making a living in show business for 35 years," Kolack says.

Meanwhile he keeps honing the two facets of his craft he loves the most: acting and directing.

Kolack's current project - acting in Raven Theatre's revival of Neil Simon's crowd pleaser, "The Odd Couple" - is one that is close to his heart.

"I first performed in it the summer between my junior and senior years of high school," Kolack says. "We did the show for 120 dollars. I played Oscar."

Three years ago, he directed the comedy at Drury Lane Oakbrook.

You'd think, then, that he would have had his fill of this classic comedy about two mismatched roommates, one messy and the other insanely neat. But when Raven's Michael Menendian offered Kolack a chance to appear in the play, he jumped.

"I get to play Vinnie, the henpecked husband," Kolack says, "who has to leave the poker game at 12 midnight. He is kind of naive, kind of dense. But you know he is the happiest person in the play. And he wins more than anyone else in the poker game."

Kolack wins as well, with a role in a play he likes by a playwright he respects.

"The problem with a lot of people who want to attack Neil Simon is that they don't realize, you don't analyze his plays to death," Kolack says. "You just sit back and enjoy it."

• "The Odd Couple" runs through July 18 at the Raven Theatre, 6157 N. Clark St., Chicago. For tickets call (773) 338-2177 or visit raventheatre.com.