We recently connected with Isaac Kirk and have shared our conversation below.
Isaac, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The most meaningful project I have worked on thus far in my career, is a project called Docents. Docents is an indulgent dark comedic glimpse into America’s lineage, the ideas surrounding cultural morality, identity, and classism. set at the intersection of historical reenactment and modern day progress. The show explores the everyday world of the south through the lenses of historical actors employed at Andrew Jacksons “The Hermitage” located in Nashville, Tennessee. A community on the verge of national relevance.
The show holds significant meaning due to the fact I was part of the creative trio, Synonyms For Sorry, responsible for its creation. It was the first time a collaborative creative effort I had been apart of was executed to that magnitude. Which is meaningful due to the hope it inspires! I was able to bring the kids I mentor onto a full blown production set, and say look “This is what faith gets you! You can do this!”
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
To begin, I am a curious human!
As the second oldest of eight children, my childhood was spent creating adventure and amusement for my younger siblings. Which resulted in a keen sense of humor to navigate attention away from disaster.
Fast forward to breaking my femur sophomore year of college and I discover my small liberal arts college has a theatre program. I watched one production and told my now wife, then girlfriend, Rebekah, “I love whatever this is. And I can I do it with one good leg. I’m going to be an actor”
Three years later Rebekah is babysitting for a family and discovers that both parents are accomplished actors! She gives me the dad, Stevie Ray Dallimore’s, phone number that night and says “Call this man. He’s Legit” So I cold call him the next day. He doesn’t answer, but I leave a message! And then I call again the next day, and again he doesn’t answer! And I leave the exact same message.
Two days later he calls me back and tells me to meet him at the downtown public library. And for two years I meet Stevie Ray at that downtown public library and volunteered with his after school Theatre arts program, The Muse of Fire Project. Over those twenty four months he disseminated decades of hard won tradecraft and wisdom and taught me the ins and out of the entertainment industry. Wisdom and skill which most recently had Stevie Ray understudying Daniel Craig in Sam Gold’s Macbeth.
After scoring a few wins in southeastern film and television market, I made the move west to study with Peter Frisch in Santa Barbara, California.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
In short, I desire to positively affect the human experience. High-minded I know. But, I want people to feel seen and their lived experiences, however miserable or euphoric, valued. Because I believe everyones story has intrinsic worth. Worth that can serve others along life’s journey. And storytelling is the medium with which I’ve chosen to accomplish this.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.
Yes. Why a lot of artist and creatives are a bit masochistic.
There is a poem I love by Kahlil Gibran titled Defeat. In the poem he equates the value of defeat to a thousand triumphs, due to the fact you are gifted your own inadequacies and shortcomings. You are forced to evolve or die. For me this piece of writing perfectly encapsulates what it means to be human. From a creative vantage point, loss is the gift of discovery.
In my creative career I have found defeat to be life giving. Be it getting kicked out of a writers room, dropped by an agency, or expelled from College. All those losses gifted me the opportunity to work on myself. To grow my understanding of the world and the things that spark joy in me, strike fear in me, and birth hope. All of which require excavating, and I don’t think I’m evolved enough as a human to do that heavy lifting from a place of comfort and security. Hence my love of Improvisational theatre. It takes away all the masks and distractions with which we navigate the world. And forces you to be completely present and emotional honest with the person across the stage from you.
Contact Info:
- Website: Isaackirk.com & synonymsforsorry.com
- Instagram: Kirk_IV
- Facebook: Isaac Kirk
- Other: Thirdcoastcomedyclub.com
Image Credits
Micah Kandros LeXander Bryant Caroline Pace Cooper Smith