KELLY DAVIS

Contact Information

9172827582

Kelly has been a Teaching Artist with SmartARTS since 2018. She works with students ages K-12 using drama and movement integrated with each unit’s academic standards. With a background in yoga, Kelly’s classes often incorporate movement, breath and/or choreography. Kelly performs locally in theatre productions in Upstate, SC. She enjoys all genres of theatre including musicals, comedies, heavy drama, improvisation, contemporary, classical and Shakespeare.

I am a rehearsal junkie and I love doing "the work." I strongly prefer stage work to on-camera work because it allows for the story telling to be organic and spontaneous, feeding off of the audience as much as the other actors on stage. I am often praised for my energy on stage, and I relish being thoroughly engaged in the action on stage, whether I am a principal character or ensemble. I love the homework that goes along with creating a character and that moment where I decide what "key" to use to "unlock" my performance. I adore ensemble work and contributing to the action on stage by reacting and sending the focus back to the main performers. There are no small parts! I believe in uplifting other actors - even those who I am in competition with. I believe there are enough opportunities for everyone to have a chance in the spotlight, and I am content when it's' my turn to sit in the audience and support the work of my fellow artists. I am grateful to have found a home in Upstate South Carolina, where the opportunities to perform are abundant, the talent is ripe, and the community is supportive.

I believe that the arts are for everyone, and I align myself with theatre companies that put this statement into action. In my work with Proud Mary Theatre, I was specifically able to uplift the stories of the LGBTQIA+ community. My role in the Pink Unicorn was of a middle aged Christian widow in Texas whose child comes out to her as gender queer. Tricia’s journey through her faith and ultimate acceptance of her child is one that inspired audiences and provoked thoughtful talkbacks between queer children and their parents, and opened the lines of communication for people who otherwise would not have had a way to do this. My experience performing in RENT at the Market Theatre in Anderson tackled themes impacting the queer community including homelessness and HIV. My role as Callie Pax in Proud Mary’s Stop Kiss tackled hate crime and told a beautiful love story between two women who identified as straight, but who slowly fell in love throughout the play.