We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Kelley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. 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.
I always learn by doing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying anything bad about a traditional college or university setting because I did that too, but I always felt I learned so much more as both an actor and a producer by being on set or in the theatre. I was lucky enough to know I wanted to be an actor at a very young age and submerged myself into the theatre starting at the age of 5. I did my first commercial at 15 and my first film/tv role at 18. At 18 I also got the itch to start producing and ever since then both acting and producing have lived in harmony within my life.
I definitely have the select few amazing professors from high school and college & acting coaches that will always have a place in my heart and that I owe so much to, but at the same time I also have those select few plays and tv/film sets that equally taught me so much of what I have learned about my crafts.
On a side note, too, I will say that I am of the ilk that you should never stop learning. Every single stage I step on or set I step into, I learn. I will continue to learn my craft until the day I die and that is one of the great things that keeps me going and keeps me motivated in my career path.
Stephanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My parents always joke that they think it’s so funny that I became the performer in my family. Between me and my siblings, I was always the one to keep quiet at home. I don’t enjoy drama in my life, but I live for it on the stage or on a set! No one else in my family is involved in my industry but my parents were always, and to this day still are, very supportive of my path and my desire to follow my heart in acting and producing.
I do have many fond memories of being in the attic of one of my family homes, we moved around a lot, and my dad playing guitar and me and him singing songs we made up together. And my mom would blast “Phantom of the Opera” when we were cleaning the house. Like I said, they were and to this day are still incredibly supportive but no one else in my family has been guided into a path in the entertainment industry.
Just the other day I was on the phone with my mom and was answering all these questions that she had about filming on locations vs. in a studio and all the permits required and the amount of people involved in productions. She thought is was “so cool” that the people on the sides of the street were actually extras and not just random people walking down a street while a tv show or movie was being filmed. I constantly talk to my dad about new (mostly paranormal, horror and sci-fi) shows and movies. That’s our way of connecting.
I am so proud to have family and friends that support me and lift me up.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I believe that society could support artists by realizing that our careers and paths aren’t all sunshine and roses. The top actors and producers, the people we call celebrities, make up less than 2% of working actors and producers but they’re the ones that get the most credit. Now I’m not downplaying those people (some of them are my friends and colleagues) but I think the vast majority of Americans who aren’t involved in the entertainment industry don’t understand the rigor and hard work it takes to be in this community. Personally, I wouldn’t want to be in any other industry, but the entertainment industry is very idolized and put on a pedastool to most people who aren’t involved in it. Please just know that so many of us that work our booties off never get recoginition like the top 2% does, but it doesn’t mean we’re any less or we aren’t as good or don’t try as hard. This is a tough industry and a LOT of hard work has to go into it in order to make a full-time living doing it.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
There are so many amazing resources out there that I have taken part of and learned from over the years. I will say some of the most impactful include: “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield
Any Ted talk or videos by Brene Brown (especially her book “The Gifts of Imperfection”)
A book that i’ve read cover to cover multiple times: “It all begins with I” by Stuart K. Robinson
The community of John Rosenfeld Studios and the friends and colleagues I’ve come to know over the years through “JRS”. John and the people involved in that studio are an absolutely phenomenal part of my life and I wouldn’t give them up for the world!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @stephanienkelley
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Actress.Stephanie.Kelley
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-kelley-1228a32/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBn2-vv17WxJaPlc8P0oXyA
- Other: TikTok @stephaniekelley99