We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kevin Goss. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kevin below.

Alright, Kevin thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on is a screenplay-turned-novel called Totah.

As a kid, I used to dream of someday becoming an actor or a writer. I dabbled in stage acting during my teen years, but it wasn’t until well into adulthood that I began to seriously focus on the craft of acting. Between 2012 and 2016, I worked pretty consistently in paid and unpaid acting roles in stage and film productions. From the film work, I started to understand how screenplays are structured. My childhood yearning to be a writer resurfaced.

I sometimes felt that I was overlooked for acting roles that I really wanted to play, due to my short stature (5’5″ if I practice perfect posture). I began writing screenplays with lead or supporting roles that I would love to play. The connections that I’d made with directors and crew members on movie sets as an actor helped me produce one of my screenplays a web series and another as a short film.

In 2019, I began writing a screenplay for a full-length mystery/suspense movie that was inspired by the people, history, and mythology of the area around Farmington, New Mexico, where generations of my family have lived (and continue to live). I dreamed of playing the lead character I had written, Dennis Cleveland. I sent the screenplay for Totah (the Navajo name for the area where Farmington is located) to a professional script coverage service and got valuable feedback that helped me improve the screenplay significantly. However, there was one major issue: The cost to produce it would just not be within my means, even though I had used many cost-cutting hacks learned from working on micro-budget films.

I decided to enter the screenplay into film festivals that have a screenwriting category. Totah received good feedback from festival judges, and won second-place for feature script at the Mindfield Albuquerque Film Festival. However, the accolades didn’t result in a millionaire offering to produce my movie.

By this time, we were well into the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, that meant a lot more time spent at home. I began converting Totah into a novel, which was a magical experience. Free from the constraints of worrying about the cost to produce it as a film, I was able to make the story unfold on a much grander scale. The novel is much more cinematic than the screenplay ever was. I self-published the book on Amazon in 2022, and it has been well-received. Some people have commented that they felt like they were watching a movie when they read the novel. That makes me so happy.

Kevin , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I grew up on the rough-and-tumble west side of Phoenix, Arizona. Sports were the big thing for boys there. Or gangs. But not the arts, such as theater or writing. That was probably the case in most of the U.S.A., and it still may be that way.

My adolescent understanding was that to be an actor, a person had to move to L.A. or New York, and to be a writer, a person needed to spend an eternity pitching manuscripts to publishers in New York or Chicago, where they would most likely end up in a dumpster, never having been read. Since I had very limited experience as an actor or writer by the time I graduated from high school, I wasn’t about to move to one of those cities with hopes of being “discovered.” I’ve always been a practical and realistic person, with a healthy dose of dreamer in the mix.

I was 34 years old when I first learned of the concept of community theater. After a health crisis, I decided to audition for a stage production of the musical “Cabaret” that I’d seen a casting call for in the newspaper. My hope was that the positive energy and focus of working on a production would help me through my recovery from a horrible spinal cord disease called transverse myelitis. Fortunately, I got a role in that production. In addition to helping me overcome illness, I discovered that community theater was a fantastic place to improve my acting skills.

My first acting role in a community theater production led to my first invitation to audition for a short film, which I was cast in later that year. Over the last eleven years, I’ve been in about two films and two stage plays per year on average. It’s been a lot of fun. I’ve learned a lot, made friends, and expanded my horizons into writing. I self-published my first novel at 44. I don’t have a company or product to market (except that I’d love for people to read my novel, Totah, or watch any of the films and web series I’ve been in).

Maybe I’m an example that it’s never too late to chase your dreams. In her song, The Long Way Home, Mary Chapin-Carpenter sings, “Accidents and inspiration lead you to your destination.” Those lyrics definitely explain my artistic journey so far.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’ve received zero pay for most of my acting work. I’ve met many people through the years who’ve expressed an interest in getting into acting. When I’ve let them know about casting calls for unpaid community theater productions or indie films, they’ve said they weren’t interested and that they’d only do acting work that paid. Some have said they think I’m crazy for spending so much time working on productions for zero pay.

Having grown up in an area where sports were the thing for boys to do, I have an analogy. Let’s say a six-year-old says he wants to be an NFL player when he grows up. His parents will start him in the pee-wee league of Pop Warner football, and he’ll continue in Pop Warner through elementary school. In his teen years, he’ll begin to play for his middle school and/or high school team. If he’s really good, he’ll be selected to play on a college or university team as a young adult. If he’s one of the best of the best, he’ll make the NFL and finally start getting paid, around the age of 22. That’s after 16 years of hard work and improving his skills. Most of those little boys with a dream never make it to the NFL and never get paid a dime for playing football. But they did something they enjoyed, they chased a dream, they learned, and they made friends along the way.

It’s the same with acting or any other artistic pursuit. I’ve been doing acting fairly steadily for 11 years now. So, I’m at about the same level as an 11th grader in the football analogy.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I have a master’s degree in Administration, which included several courses on management and leadership. I learned things about emotional intelligence and leading through change, which are helpful when managing people. Some of that knowledge has likely helped me build teams to successfully complete film projects that I’ve produced. However, a resource that has influenced my personal work philosophy is Larry Winget’s book titled It’s Called Work for a Reason: Your Success is Your Own Damn Fault. I think the title says it all.

Contact Info:

• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kevingoss195
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/TOTAH-Mexicos-cultures-converge-secrets-ebook/dp/B09RQMJLZ8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=M4UFXVD91IIH&keywords=totah&qid=1695538996&sprefix=tota%2Caps%2C248&sr=8-1

Image Credits
Sushila Kandola, Travis Mills, George Cancasci