We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tammy Kaitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Tammy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I currently have a film called Motel Room which is playing around the world in Film Festivals. I am the executive producer and star in the movie. I originally read this script about 6 years ago and have felt this story in my soul for all these years. The movie is about two unlikely people, a prostitute and a teen age boy meeting at an unlikely moment in time and they are both changed by this interaction. It is a beautiful little film!
Tammy, 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?
When I was a pre-teen, I saw in The Denver Post auditions for Peter Pan at a community theatre, and without telling my mom I rode my bike 10 miles to the theatre! I continued doing theatre in Denver where I am from, majored in theatre in college, went to a professional acting school in London, and then moved to Los Angeles. I have worked for years in Television, Movies, Commercials, Print, and Stage. I currently have a couple of feature films on Prime, the most current is Man Camp in which I have the female lead.
I married my childhood sweetheart and we have two sons. I am proud of the thousands of dollars that I have raised for Pediatric Cancer Research!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I have always felt my artistry through my acting. I completely own this. So during the dry spells when I am not working, I still know that I am an artist and I look ahead, and not back, I don’t concern myself with the roles I did not get. I have no control over that. I look for new opportunities to express myself that hopefully move people that see the stories I am telling through my work. And I look to surround myself with amazingly talented people!
Life really is about balance! Have relationships, friendships, explore the world, volunteer and help others. I’’m a better actress because my life is balanced.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
When our oldest son was one month shy of 14 years old, he was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. He had a mass the size of a cantaloupe sitting on his heart pressing in his lung. Rocked our world. I lived with him at Children’s Hospital LA for 6 months. Most of the children did not survive their cancer battle. But our son did. Obviously my career stopped. Even 2 years into his remission, I lived and breathed kid cancer. It wasn’t until someone offered me a role in a play that I began to live again. On opening night, I felt like Dorthy in the Wizard of Oz when the movie went from black and white to color. The curtains parted when I was onstage and I felt life outside of the vortex of horrific pediatric cancer. I could finally breathe again. Literally the world had meaning again. This chapter in our lives was beyond intense. Today our son is a healthy young man. And we are eternally grateful at the brilliance of medical science.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tammykaitz.com
- Instagram: @tammykaitz and @motelroomthemovie
- Youtube: Tammy Kaitz