Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Pekar

Hi Kelly, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?

I grew up in a small suburb of Cleveland, OH. The weekly trips my mom and I took to our local library definitely set the stage for my passions to develop. It was on those weekly library excursions that I discovered my entryway into the arts – the movie musical. I developed a voracious appetite for this medium of storytelling, which led to 8-year old me begging to audition for my first play. After playing a Cratchit child in A Christmas Carol at a local community theatre, I never looked back! Building a life in the arts requires a lot of patience, resilience, and creativity because there isn’t one right way to do it – there’s no set of steps that guarantees “success” in this field- and defining what success even looks like can feel like trying to catch a goldfish with your bare hands. I’ve spent the last two decades working as an actor, voiceover, and teaching artist – and recently am finding opportunity in writing and directing as well. The goal has always been the same – collaboration with kind humans who are passionate about creating quality, accessible, surprising stories. For a long time I identified as an actor only, but the longer I’ve been part of this industry, the more my passions and hats continue to expand. At the moment, I’m at the beginning of a run of Ken Ludwig’s Moriarty at freeFall Theatre in St. Petersburg, FL playing Irene Adler and others, am developing several new works with fantastic playwrights as an actor and dramaturg, getting ready for the release of upcoming Indie Game The Haunting of Joni Evers with Causeway Studios in which I voice the title character, have several new writing projects, and am in pre-production to direct a new play, Emily Dickinson: Star-Crossed Employee by Melissa Maney, in New York City in early 2025.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

I don’t know if any artist’s journey is a smooth one! There have been obvious periods of challenge – like my partner and I losing our apartment (and most of our belongings) in a flood, and unexpectedly losing my father a few weeks before starting rehearsal for a new project, but some of the most persistent obstacles I’ve had are much less obvious. A challenge that never quite goes away is cultivating a mindset of always being one step (or several, if possible) ahead – working to line up the next gig when you’re in the middle of your current one, while still drinking in the current experience. Learning how to prioritize career growth and access my creativity in moments where I’m also having to work non-artistic jobs for survival. To that end – finding new ways to have my basic needs met when the payment schedule for some freelance artistic jobs may not line up with fixed deadlines like rent dates and bills. I also think, finding new ways to hang onto “the love of it” is essential for me. It’s nearly impossible not to be jaded by some part of this competitive and often gate-kept industry, but it is important work to maintain my spirit, my life force – the five year old me who fell in love with this art form, but didn’t realize it was also a business. Making space for her can be difficult when confronted by the brass-tacks challenges of this industry, but it’s something I’m very committed to.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

I’m a Brooklyn-based actor, writer, director and co-dog mom!
Actor hi-lights: Off-Broadway: The Threepenny Opera (Lucy Brown), London: Talley’s Folly (Sally Talley). Other favorites: Phoenix Theatre Company’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Judy), Dike (New York Theatre Workshop development and Urbanite Theatre production), Indecent (Manke/Halina/others), Amadeus at TheatreZone (Constanze), Cinderella in Into the Woods, Molly in Peter and the Starcatcher, the 14-Character Actress track in Ken Ludwig’s Baskerville (freeFall Theatre, Critic’s Choice Award), the World Premiere of Sarah Ruhl’s adaptation of Three Sisters (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, directed by John Doyle) and a workshop of Hannah Benitez’ St. Brigid at Rattlestick Theatre. Voiceover: Narrator of Rust: a Memoir of Steel and Grit with Macmillan Audio, dubbing for multiple animated series, and lead voiceover in upcoming video game The Haunting of Joni Evers, with Causeway Studios. Writer hi-lights: On the writing team for upcoming U.K. – Hungarian action feature, The LastTrain to Budapest with Cardinal Film Productions, playwright of Four Calling Birds, developed with Broadway’s Hannah Ryan, working with playwrights and screenwriters as a dramaturg and script doctor – Hi-lights including Hannah Benitez’ Dike, and Melissa Maney’s Hungry Women (semi-finalist for Soho Playhouse Lighthouse Series). I also teach workshops and masterclasses, and offer private coaching via zoom and in-person in NYC.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?

I spent the bulk of 2020 serving as a volunteer Crisis Counselor for The Trevor Project. Their training program is incredible, and I learned many skills that have transformed the way I relate to others in my every day life as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kellypekar.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelly.pekar/
• Other: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2828590/The_Haunting_of_Joni_Evers/

Image Credits

MontePhoteaux – @montephoteaux – www.montephoteaux.com