Tell us about your upcoming project(s). Upcoming I have a film project with fellow Studio member Joe O’Donnell and a short film with my director and fellow Studio member, Nick Frangione. I am also collaborating on a song with Stu Chase.

Also on the music front I have another CD to record and am working towards either a music theater piece or music/film piece. Areas I’d like to put more energy towards are playing live again and scoring films.

You’ve been busy since you graduated; tell us about your other projects and what you’ve learned. Currently I am working as an actor and producer on Roxie, a feature film that was birthed out of work done in the Studio. Sometimes the stars align and it feels like magic – that’s what this project feels like. Recently I heard “When you do a short film, it’s like having a puppy. When you do a feature, it’s like having twins.” Boy am I feeling that! My compatriots and I have been challenged in many ways on this film. I have learned to just keep going – pick yourself up, do your best, stick together and keep going. I have learned the importance of keeping your word and supporting your team. Sometimes that means making toast for the prop in the scene, sometimes that means bringing food for the shoot and sometimes that means helping the other actors run lines. If you want to finish the film, you do what it takes. You commit, you follow through and it will happen.

In addition, I have been a Studio member for the past two years and I’ve been part of the Table One web series and Melissa’s film project last summer. I have also done some theater and voiceover work.

The Training

Sanford Meisner: Sanford Meisner essentially dissected human behavior and then taught us how to recreate it. All those little things we take for granted, that are part of our everyday experience and that make us human. . . he took the mountain and turned it into a mole hill.

The #1 thing I learned in class was: know what you are doing and why.

The best advice I can give current students at the Meisner Technique Studio is: give it your all cause that is what you are worth – your all. And know we all develop in our own time. Beating yourself up cause you aren’t where you think you “should” be just gets in the way.

The #1 thing I’ve learned since graduating: be prepared. The greatest gift I can give myself as an actor is a good night’s sleep and then knowing I am ready.

The biggest adjustment since I graduated: not having the structure of class. It is now up to me to fly, or not.

The hardest adjustment since I graduated: not seeing my artistic family twice a week and missing the sense of connection and inspiration that I got from them. Hence, I joined the Studio. Problem solved.

The #1 thing I miss about being in class: the way time seemed to stop during it. I was riveted during class – watching my fellow classmates unfold, open and grow inspired the hell out of me.

The #1 thing I don’t miss about being in class is: coming up with activities twice a week!

Jim said this over and over but I never realized how true it was until I got out and into the real world was: that the distance between realizing your dream and actualizing your dream is a desert. It’s not always the most talented who make it, but those with the most perseverance. I have had some long dark nights throughout this process. High highs, low lows. Jim was very clear about sharing many of the harder things he has had to overcome. Knowing that I am not alone in the struggle helps immensely. Stay connected. We are not alone.

The Business

The Business of Your Dream class was: an eye opener and a long time ago. I could take it again and I think it is like traffic school that way ☺

The # 1 thing I took from it was: be smart about your future. Have a plan and a goal to work towards to drive you.

Getting an agent: is next on my list. I needed to be clear of what I wanted first.

One year from now: I am at the viewing of Roxie at Sundance.

Five years from now: My full-time job is acting and music.

The best thing about where you are in your dream is: that I am doing what I wanted – working in film and loving every minute of it, even the many tough ones.

The worst thing about where you are in your dream is: that to work on a feature length film and maintain a full-time day job is really tough. Sometimes I feel very chewed up and spit out by it all. My ability to pursue music, let alone just sit down and play has taken a major hit and that is tough on the soul. There have been many times at the end of my work day when I have felt I had nothing left to give/say and the day was nowhere near over.

The #1 thing I wish directors knew about working with actors: that sometimes less is more. Tell me to be a bitch rather than how to get there.

You

If I could work with any actor, it would be: Sean Penn.

If I could re-cast a Hollywood movie role with myself, it would be: Louise in Thelma and Louise.

My greatest influence(s): my Mom. If you knew her, you would understand why. She was given one of the most difficult hands one can be dealt in this life and she has done so with more grace and courage than I could ever imagine possessing.

I first knew I wanted to be an actor: In 1999 I wrote a musical comedy with a girlfriend who wrote me in as one of the leads. I had never acted before that time. We wrote another for production in 2005, which was when I found Jim. The stirrings were there but it wasn’t until about halfway through the training that I knew. It was a daunting knowing cause it certainly wasn’t going to make my life easier – I had already been pursuing music for some time. It was impossible to walk away from something that made me feel so very alive and yet equally scared at times.

I first knew I wanted to be a singer: in the scheme of things it was late – I was 18. I had wanted to be a dancer and let go of that dream to pursue the other. Music literally saved my life and I wanted to pay that forward.

I’ll always be: … a bit of a pain in the ass. It comes from wanting to understand things. It also shows in tough situations where I have a tendency to default to humor, which can either be a blessing or a curse depending upon the other person.

My mother: grace, defiance, joy, love.

My father: devotion, strength, humility, love.

My #1 problem is: I think too much. And, I am working on it.

I wish: I wish people would heal the wounds and traumas of their past so we could all just be our authentic selves instead of acting out in fear or pain.

I wish Jim had told me: to remember to be very clear of expectations when collaborating. Not everyone has what it takes to see a project through to the end and finding that out in the middle sucks. Although I feel I should have thought of that one on my own!

I wish somebody had told me: to learn to give myself credit for my accomplishments and to not be so hard on myself.

Someday I’m going to: support myself from my creative endeavors and quit my day job. I really look forward to that.

My favorite actor: Ralph Fiennes.

My favorite singer: Bono.

My favorite film: The English Patient.

My favorite book: Ernest Hemingway’s short stories.

When I get overwhelmed: I do yoga or play piano – or both. Sometimes I shut down and stop doing the things I know support me. When I am ungrounded I have trouble connecting even the most obvious dots and have to remind myself to do yoga or play piano. My sister the other day reminded me to breathe and I was like “Oh yeah, breathe. Much better. Got it.”

The biggest waste: un-actualized talent. If we aren’t living fully as individuals then we take it out on others – at home, at work and in the world.

If I were not an actor and a singer: I’d be creating in some other transformative way. Meaning that what I create would hopefully transform others even if for the brevity of a song or a film or a really well cooked meal.

Courage­­: is sometimes blind – which is a good thing. Had I known the full breadth of many things I have done, I may not have had the courage to do so. The amount of courage for one step forward is sometimes all you need – it’s like the universe matches that courage and gives you what you need to keep going.

I’ll never: I’ll never stop creating and I’ll never stop learning.

Is there anything else you’d like to say? Enjoy the process. I know this is saying is thrown around a lot, however, enjoying the process is about being in the moment. If we don’t enjoy that then what is the point. Right?

Lastly, thank you Jim. I am eternally grateful for finding you – or as the saying goes “when the student is ready, the teacher appears.” That could not have been truer for me. You were the missing piece of my puzzle and my life as an artist has been forever changed. And with the utmost of humility, thank you Meisner Technique Studio for this spotlight honor.

The Meisner Technique Studio would like to thank Kelly for taking time to share with us and with all of you. We wish her all the very best.