Acting Students

 Kelley is an unbelievably committed teacher and director. She has no ego in the rehearsal room. Her stake in the game is the improvement and growth of actor. Kelley encourages growth through allowing actors to fail proudly. The only choice is to MAKE A CHOICE. I learned so much more by making bigger choices. Kelley encouraged those choices. While making choices is a huge element of Kelley’s teaching, the biggest element is that she is there. If I needed help with something, she made time to help me. I have worked on countless monologues with her. When I have had questions about a show I was in, she always helped. Sometimes though, the best help she gave was not helping. I needed to trust some of my own decisions as an actor. She would still show up and watch, but would ask me what I thought. Often, I knew what needed work. Kelley is a determined and student-oriented instructor. I participated in her yoga sessions as well. I always appreciated that she approached each student where they were at on that day. It made everyone give their all. I have worked with Kelley in a variety of atmospheres. As a student, actor, yogi, teaching assistant, and friend. I envy any student that gets to work with her daily. Having someone that is completely dedicated to your growth in your corner is too infrequent of privilege, and Kelley is completely dedicated to student growth.  

I don’t want to be a cliché here and start off by saying that working with Kelley McKinnon changed my life… but working with Kelley McKinnon clearly, palpably, undeniably changed my life. I first met Kelley when I was attending Mary Baldwin College as part of its Program for the Exceptionally Gifted, in the middle of my freshman year at the age of thirteen. At the time, I was awkward even by teenage standards, and meek by virtue of being in a thoroughly weird situation. I knew that I wanted to pursue acting professionally, but the majority of adults in my life treated my goals as childish pipe dreams– in fairness, thirteen-year-olds don’t have a particularly good reputation for having their lives figured out. Kelley was the first person who I felt really listened to me, and taught me the way that anyone with a passion deserves to be taught. She presented me with dynamic scenes and characters that she knew would challenge me, and encouraged me to explore sides of myself that I had never investigated before. She showed me the importance of “making a choice”, which gave me a rare kind of freedom: up until that point, I had worked with a lot of very prescriptive directors, which had conditioned me to believe that I was always supposed to just wait and be told what to do. She taught me to approach acting with empathy and compassion, and to understand the characters I played without allowing them to absorb me. When we were offstage, Kelley showed me so much about navigating life as an artist and a human being: her bullshit meter is very well-calibrated, and she emphasized the importance of setting boundaries and standing up for myself both in the rehearsal room and outside it. Working w​​ith Kelley didn’t just make me a better actor. It made me tougher, smarter, kinder, and more confident, and helped me to realize why acting meant so much to me in the first place. 

I currently live in Los Angeles, and am taking my shot at breaking into the film industry. Although I’ve worked some acting jobs here and there, I’ve discovered a new love for working behind the camera, and am now trying to secure a job in the world of production. My career aspirations have wavered several times, and I’ve reached out to Kelley in the midst of an identity crisis more than once. Through all of the hard parts, however, I’ve carried with me the most important lesson that Kelley taught me in college years ago: that, no matter what I end up doing, my passion and ambition are actually worth something. The thing is, Kelley doesn’t just teach her students how to act. She teaches them why they WANT to act, and that wanting to act is valid. If you have any interest in pursuing theatre, reach out to Kelley immediately. At the very least, you’ll get a fun and informative coaching experience with a fantastic teacher, and at the most, your life might be changed forever. Even before learning Kelley’s choice-based approach to acting, that seems like a pretty straightforward decision to make. 

 There is no one like Kelley McKinnon. I have worked with many talented acting teachers and directors and am reminded each time how lucky I am to have worked with Kelley, who makes all others pale in comparison. She has an incredible amount of knowledge on every acting technique and style in the book - and, even rarer, the ability to impart that knowledge in a fun and practical way to her students. She takes advanced, complicated concepts and breaks them down in the most straightforward way possible. I have seen Kelley work with a student for an hour and transform that student more than another teacher could do with an entire semester. What I absolutely love about Kelley’s teaching style is that she tailors her teaching to each individual student. When Kelley taught me, she came to know and care about me personally, so that each lesson was specifically designed for my unique strengths and weaknesses. Her ability to adapt makes her an excellent teacher for all ages, genders, or acting backgrounds. Kelley also encourages her students to develop self-awareness, asking them after each lesson: “What do you think you need to work on?” Kelley encourages actors to make big, bold choices and push past their own boundaries in a way that is truly inspiring. When Kelley saw actors getting tongue tied or nervous, she encouraged them to do a few quick jumping jacks and then begin their monologue. She used many creative techniques, always suited to the individual student, to tackle any problems. Her rigor and discipline made us commit to pushing ourselves: outside of class, we would run our monologues and scenes for hours, driven by our desire to make her proud. She was so invested in our personal success - we often said that there was no greater feeling than hearing Kelley yell for joy after one of our monologues. Her energy was infectious - she brought such a playful, vivacious charm to the classroom that made us always engaged and laughing along with her. Put it simply, she was not only an absolute joy to have in the room, she was also the greatest teacher I have ever had, in any discipline. I cannot even describe how much she changed my life: to list all her wonderful qualities would take too much paper. She is passionate, hilarious, practical, intelligent, inspiring, driven, dynamic. Suffice to say that anytime I perform, I use the tools that Kelley gave me and hear her voice in my head, guiding me. I contact her constantly for advice or for coaching sessions, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.