We were lucky to catch up with Kimberly Corrigan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kimberly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
By the time I landed one of my first few major roles, I had done enough radio and television broadcasting and public speaking to make me think I knew what I was doing. Haha. However, learning the ins and outs of performing a live theatrical role like the 1995 Off-Broadway comedy ‘Sylvia’ was humbling and really took some effort, especially as she was a dog. I had incredible help from my castmates and director in really diving into the role, and the idea of being purely emotional, like a dog, eventually started creeping into my real life. The role was challenging and most fulfilling. The play has a timely message about the need to connect in an increasingly alien and impersonal world. ‘There is a need to connect, not only to a dog, but to other people through the dog.'”[1 wiki] In an article for the 2nd Story Theatre in Warren, Rhode Island, Eileen Warburton wrote that “‘Sylvia’ is a love story, of course, about a relationship with one of those magical animals people in stories so often meet just when they’re at a troubling crossroads in life, an animal that is a guide to finding the best in ourselves…our propensity to project human characteristics and motives onto our non-human companions is dramatized by having the adopted dog played by an adoring young woman.”[2 wiki] Sarah Jessica Parker is also well-known for playing the role.
I love character acting and there is some method to it, but to act as a canine and be tail wagging and simply full of joy had its effect. This time, I was drawing on inspiration from…dogs. Observing and learning from dog parks, my dog Trixie, and my co-stars Don and Lisa’s dog Chance. In other roles, I drew more from method acting; stepping into someone else’s shoes and being and emoting as they would. Drawing from personal life experiences, you can create a character based on a mosaic of your own life. Sometimes it helps you get through hard things. Sometimes it helps you expand in ways you never thought you would, viewing life from a completely different lens. Experiencing different perspectives gives you a real sense of balance, of being. Learning the craft has been a lot like being a former athlete – it takes discipline and focus. It takes dedication and training. It takes those behind-the-scenes hours that dissolve into the background once you step into the spotlight. The most fun part of playing Sylvia was the physical aspect; wearing knee pads and running around like a dog – rutting on the couch, eating treats, taking long walks at night with my master and even being spayed and playing in the dog park – she is a part of me and helped me dive into the craft so much more than I ever would. I love Sylvia and the part of her that remains with me forever. Sometimes to help shift perspective in my own life, I think, “What would Sylvia do?” As far as speeding up the process? No regrets, but definitely time wasted worrying about things I couldn’t control. Serenity, right?
Kimberly, 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 am a translator of art for business. I speak both Creative and Corporate suits. I began as a voiceover artist in college at UNC Chapel Hill (Go Heels!) and video editor at Screen Gems studios in Wilmington, NC. I’ll never forget editing during the day for shows like Dawson’s Creek and then waiting tables at night at The Oceanic Restaurant in Wrightsville Beach watching Joshua Jackson walk in barefoot. I remember thinking “I’ve been staring at a tape of you all day, and now I’m serving you and your entourage shrimp!” haha Following that I accepted a position as live producer for the 2005 U.S. Open in Pinehurst, NC and was quickly pulled up the ranks to be both a one man band reporter for “Talk Around Town” with Kimberly, and then to anchor the news program “Newsmakers”. It was an honor and quite unexpected. Chance favors the prepared and I was able to step into the roles and grow. As my career developed, I had the opportunity to work for creative agencies like Wildfire, LLC in Winston-Salem, NC, Centerline Digital in downtown Raleigh, NC and as Division Director and headhunter for The Creative Group at Robert Half International. It was then I realized that I could connect to other creatives through my experience and assist in helping their careers grow. That was an amazingly fulfilling chapter in my life, being respected enough by peers who saw my boots on the ground experience to trust me with their career choices. Super intense and rewarding period. Acting on the side always helped keep me focused and relaxed, and when I was fortunate enough to tour with the productions full-time, I was truly living the dream. Each stepping stone builds on the next; it never ceases to amaze me how each experience and piece of wisdom imparted continues to help one grow and understand. My work has always been about communication and storytelling. I have worked with some of the biggest brands out there – Forbes, IBM, Colgate, Burt’s Bees, Lowe’s Home Improvement, NASCAR, the United States Air Force – and many, many nonprofits – which make the tenure that much more satisfying looking back. I operate on the theory of abundance, that there’s enough for everyone, which has made it so lovely to connect with fellow creatives on making the world a nicer place. A project I am most fond of is my own YouTube segment: ‘Kimberly’s Corner’.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I was made a partner at Blueforest Studios and within a month the company was sold. Two weeks later my dog of 14 years passed away in my arms. Seven months later I found myself living in Telluride, Colorado; a beach bunny in a ski resort. It was intense to no longer have a foothold in the industry and steeped the network of my entire career on the east coast, but even more so to learn a new culture and climate. I embraced the opportunity and began filling in for radio shows on 95.5 Mountain Chill Radio and KOTO.org and eventually on to producing more videos. The hiking and first white out snow storms gave me such perspective, and now, 6 years in, I am an avid skier and hiker and have expanded my world so much since my upbringing. It was hard, it was lonely and challenging. It was cold! But to walk through something like that and come out so much better and well-rounded on the other side certainly not only gives you perspective in life, but a true appreciation for where you come from and where you can go. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of my family, and although they hated to see me move 2000 miles away, they certainly have not given up the love and support. Now I feel like I have conquered the east to the west and have come out so much more humble because of it. Big fish in little ponds, small fish in big ponds, it all teaches you something.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
Perfection, Sometimes it is better to have it ‘done’ than ‘perfect’. My Dad has always reminded me about being a perfectionist and how at the end of the day I could drive myself crazy on a detail that 99.9% of others wouldn’t notice. It’s taken practice and experience to learn that being creative is both a maddening and thrilling process. To go through what you have to go through to create, and then to see your creation is I imagine an experience only like parenting. I’ve dedicated my life to my career and seeing it thrive and the difference I can make, no matter how small, is what it is all about. No one is going to remember the spreadsheets I created or the hours I pulled, but they are going to remember the story that resonated and how they were made to feel. Being creative has brought me so much joy, and not being creative enough has led me to project management haha. I have savored it all and this journey has been so fulfilling literally because of the people I have partnered with and the connections I have made; the people that ‘saw’ and see me. We are all the same inherently and to tap into that human-ness in all aspects of my career has been such a joy.
I was proud to have this excerpt called ‘The Walmart Day’ recently published:
“It was a hot summer day in the south. My sister Jaclyn and I were playing outside and my Dad had run out for an errand. When he came back in he was not his usual jovial self. He was fuming, and less from the yardwork and the heat, and more from some experience he had just had.
He startled us as he flew upstairs and took a shower, shaved, and put on a full suit and tie. It wasn’t a workday so while this look wasn’t unusual on Daddy, it was for 2 PM on a scorching Saturday.
He immediately got back in the car and left. We continued to play outside wondering what in the world. We knew and trusted him, so we knew everything was going to be ok.
Dad returned some time later and we heard his story. He had gone into a store to buy some yard supplies and when asking for assistance was brushed aside and spoken to rudely. Dad attributed the behavior to his filthy attire and disheveled appearance, having just gotten off the John Deere. As perception is reality, he came home and not only changed his clothes, but went back and showed that store attendee, and his two daughters, a bit about perspective that day.
Looking the part, or ‘appearances,’ don’t matter, it’s what is inside. And that day I was reminded to always try to view as Jesus would. Despite the outside filth :) Thanks Dad, for showing us that with life, and with people, what looks good isn’t always, and some of the best treasures are found in (and through) the rough.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corrigankimberly/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydYnSxj8Q3o
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/tv-metaverse-cohost-kimberly-corrigan-in-2023–1052153531679021738/ https://richmondobserver.com/lifestyle/column-the-art-of-don.html
Image Credits
The Pilot newspaper, Southern Pines, NC