House of 1000 Corpses In March 2005, Black received the Best Actress Award at the Fantasporto International Film Festival in Porto, Portugal, for her work in the critically-acclaimed Steve Balderson film (2005), in which she plays two roles, Sandra and Eleanor. She and actor John Hurt were both presented with Career Achievement Awards as well. Karen's career as a playwright was launched in May 2007 with the opening of "Missouri Waltz" at the Blank Theater in Los Angeles, a play in which Black stars as well.
Conceived as a play with music, rather than a musical, the play contains songs by Harriet Schock. The play is a bittersweet comedy about two ghosts who haunt their ancestral home in New Madrid, Missouri.