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Welcome to another episode of the Comedic Pursuits podcast. I’m your host, Seth Payne, and today, we get to experience the amazing energy that is Kaitlin Kemp.
I met Kaitlin in an audition for an improv project about a year ago, and I gotta tell you guys, I was blown away by her commitment to characters. Her dramatic roles and her weird, strange characters that she comes up with are so original and so much fun. I’ve since become good friends with her, and sadly she moved to New York City, so I don’t get to hang out with her as much as I used to. But on a more happy note, she’s in New York City, and she’s killing it.
Highlights from my interview with Kaitlin Kemp
I recorded this interview right before Kaitlin moved. I can give you the update that she’s killing it in the Big Apple, and now you guys get the “from humble beginnings” interview experience today. So without further ado Kaitlin Kemp.
Some of the responses have been edited for clarity. You can hear Kaitlin’s interview in full by listening to the podcast.
How did you get into comedy?
I guess it kind of starts from how I got into theater, which is through my mom. She was a theater teacher. She originally wanted to be an actress, but she didn’t really have the support in the way that I did. She took the teaching route, and she’s phenomenal at it. She was (and still is) a high school theater teacher. But that’s kind of how I got involved because she would put me in shows that she was doing when I was three and four years old, so I kind of grew up in that environment. I guess that’s how I got into performance.
We did improv stuff in high school, but we mostly just did warm-ups and exercises. In college, I was a theater major at Rome University, and I kind of got a taste for improv when I did a devised show called Kill Me Now, which is based on So You Think You Can Dance and dance competition shows. We had to play a dance character and then transition to a judge character, which was our alter ego. There was a lot of improv involved in that.
That was kind of where my memory of improv starts. My mom would probably say we did more than that in high school, but in my memory of things, that show was when I realized I really love this stuff. I felt like I was those characters, and I could live and speak as those characters. That’s where I first, I guess, started becoming interested in comedy and actually pursuing it.
After college, I had an interest in doing improv, and then I went out to California and saw a Groundlings show and all this stuff. That was probably my first introduction to improv on a professional level.
Then I actually took a class, just an afternoon two-hour class at Second City, out there. The teacher was just so welcoming and genuine and not abrasive. She was so encouraging, and I didn’t feel any different than the people who were there taking classes regularly, and I felt very comfortable. So that was kind of the click for me to sign up for some classes back in DC.
How did you discover WIT?
I actually have a family friend who knows Reaves McElveen from WIT. I’ve never met him before in my life. I don’t know why our paths have not crossed, but I still have not met him. To me, he’s just this mythical creature that I’ve never met, but my friend was like, “You have to take classes at the Washington Improv Theater. My friend works there.” So I looked into classes, and I emailed Jonathan, and the rest is history.
I started at level two based on my background in theater. I had Coonoor Behal. She moved out to Seattle, I believe. And then I had Sam Bonar for levels three and four. Then I had John Windmueller for level five, and Liz Sanders was actually my TA for level 3.
I auditioned for Harold after that, but I got a show around the same time. So I couldn’t actually do it because I was going to have to miss so many rehearsals. And it’s a very strict—which is good—attendance policy for being on Harold.
The show I was in was either Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche, or it might have been Urinetown. There were two. But in both shows, I got to use improv. And every show that I’ve done since being in DC, I’ve gotten to use improv. In Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche, the guys who wrote it based it on an improv show that they actually did. Then they took it and made a play out of it, and they did it at New York Fringe, and it was so popular there that they wrote it into a play. So they actually wrote improv elements into the script.
I also kind of take the liberty with my own characters to do improv because my theory is to ask for forgiveness, not for permission. And especially in theater, I feel we’re encouraged to make choices anyway. So my thought is that if the director doesn’t like it, they will tell me. So I just do what feels right or what my instinct is and see what happens.
How has improv impacted your theater experience?
I feel like I’m even more passionate about theater because I was doing a lot of improv. I did the TBD Immersive shows where I got to create my own characters, and that was all improv because I was part of what’s called the fabric cast, which is just people who are supposed to help carry out the story. So you know certain elements of the script, but essentially you have your own background and perspective on what’s happening. You just got to live as that character for three hours, which was really fun. Adding the improv elements to characters has made me even more passionate about the stage and just being present and listening and responding as these characters.
I recently took two Meisner workshops. I highly encourage all improv performers to take any kind of workshop or class that they can in Meisner just because it’s essentially the same thing as listening, responding, being true to yourself, and responding truthfully in the moment. It’s a theater technique, so it’s using your own personal memories and emotions to live as a character and to relate to a character. You very much bring yourself to the role.
I took two workshops of that here, and seeing the correlation between that and improv, I was like, “Oh wow, I really want to charge ahead with theater with these new tools and really expound upon Meisner.” So when I get to New York, I’m actually going to be taking more Meisner classes and using that kind of thing. I’m so excited about it. I can’t wait. And I think I’m just ready to be challenged and to just really be in the thick of things.
It’s not that I want to get the shit beat out of me. But kind of. Just to kind of ask myself, “What am I made of?”
What has it been like to play with Hellcat?
It’s been really great. Even just being able to be on The October Issue first—that was the original name, and then we went through a transition period. From that, the butterfly came out, and it is now Hellcat.
But I loved October Issue. I saw a show a couple of years back, and I just thought the cast was phenomenal, just so smart and silly and not afraid to play ugly. They were everything that I wanted to be and the kind of team that I wanted to be on. And I just felt like I hadn’t found my community in DC, especially in the improv world because I was so detached from it with doing theater. And to see that group, I was like, “I resonate with this group. I want to meet these women.” And even before then, I’d seen Kaelan Sullivan on Trustfall, and I was like, “I want to play with that girl. She’s so good.” And I feel like she just makes people look good. She makes people look better and play better.
It sounds silly, but it’s been a dream come true to play with this team. Even when Liz Sanders was my TA, I’d seen her before, and I was like, “Man, I want to work with her.” And then she was my TA, and now she’s on Hellcat. So everything just kind of fell into place. The team is just amazing, and I just feel like I’ve found friends for life. They’re just wonderful, wonderful people.
When I think about the people who were on October Issue before we came on, it’s the same thing. It’s these women who are very smart, who play these crazy characters and are very grounded and just so, so talented and watchable.
I think the thing that I love about Hellcat is the format because we can be these spunky and spiteful women, but we also love community. We came to this format because we did this brainstorming of what we all love, and it essentially came from these friendships we have with people and learning about people’s backgrounds and their stories, and that’s how we came to decide that we wanted to invite people on to share something about themselves from their past.
I just feel like it is a very communal experience. It’s kind of like In Lieu of Flowers, where you get to see a little bit of somebody that you probably wouldn’t see on a day-to-day basis. And then to take that and completely blow it up is so fun.
How was playing with In Lieu of Flowers?
It’s great to perform, but it’s also these players that I get to play with. And that’s why I loved, specifically, In Lieu of Flowers because I got to play with so many different people that I may not have ever gotten the chance to play with. John Heiser comes to mind. He is just a really great guy and such a talented performer and so grounded. And Saleh Karaman, as well. I think he kills everybody. He is super talented but, again, someone who just has such a big heart. It’s been so fun seeing people not only perform, but also to get to experience them as people.
Hellcat and In Lieu, these are people and memories that I will carry with me. So it’s good. I think that’s ultimately the driving force, and that’s another reason why I want to go to New York because I have such a great community there, people who are talented who want to go on this journey and who support me, and I support them, and they’re just good, genuine people.
That’s all I want. And I don’t care about money or fame or anything like that. I just want to work on projects with people who genuinely want to be there and to share a story.
What’s been your biggest aha moment in comedy or theater or life?
I just did a show called Pippin where I had to play this 66-year-old grandmother. And going into it, that was my biggest fear about this role, was I didn’t want to play at something and I didn’t want to be a caricature. I wanted to be authentic and real. And I feel like everything kind of clicked for me
I think the thing really helps me settle into a character is just finding their voice and then layering that onto the text that you have. So as soon as I found how she spoke and how the words felt in her in her mouth, that’s kind of when I was like, “Okay, this is who she is. And now this is how she walks, and these are her facial expressions, and this is how this makes her feel.”
I just feel like with this character in particular and working with this cast, I kind of recognized my talents. And it’s not to say that I didn’t think I was talented before. But these people would say these things about me, and I didn’t really believe them, I guess, until this role where I realized I do have a good handle of things, and I understand from my perspective how I think a character should be played or, in particular, this one for me. I just feel like I kind of grew a little bit taller and confident in my own abilities.
Confidence scares me, I think. But I feel like, in terms of character, because it is such a personal journey for an actor, that I feel like I really got it. And I feel like the reason why I was so believable was because I let those fears go, and I just brought myself to this character. I can find similarities in a grandma that I have myself, as a person, like I love people, and I genuinely want to take care and help and nurture. I’m a teacher, so I have that aspect, too, where I want to be this person for people, and that’s essentially who she is in this story.
I feel like the aha moment was just recognizing that I can do it. And leading up to this moment, the experiences and the teaching and learning that I’ve had, I was able to use it all. And I feel like I did a decent job.
What has been your biggest failure, and how did you overcome it?
It probably goes back to what I just said about recognizing my talents and my skills and how to use them. I’m getting ready to turn 27, and I’m just now deciding to move to New York. Not that you should compare your experience to other people, but I wish that I had been this confident in my abilities earlier on because I feel like my journey would’ve been very different. When I think about the things that I would have done or the theaters I might have gotten to work with, I wish that I had been this serious and this focused before now.
I think I also have very high expectations for myself. And I can feel myself coasting, and I feel like I’ve been coasting and haven’t been working as hard as I could have been. But my mom will tell you I’ve been like that my entire life. Even with stupid tests I had to take in high school, I would always freak myself out the night before. And then after the tests, I would do so well.
But I just always feel like I’m never as prepared as I should be, or I’m never working as hard as I could be working. I think I tend to get distracted by stuff. And I feel like with this move, especially, and working with my friend with this company called Art of Strategy, learning about the business side of things, I’m feeling like I’ve got this confidence in my talent now, so now I can focus on these things and not feel this way and have this new energy and purpose.
But I think that’s what comes to mind, is that I haven’t been working as hard as I could have been working and meeting people and working on certain projects and putting this energy and passion into these things as opposed to relationships and other stuff. Which isn’t to say that you shouldn’t get into relationships because I feel like that’s very much a part of who I am, too. I love my friend circles and sharing my life with people. But at the same time, I feel like I’m the type of person who will let other people’s problems become my problems. And I’m at the point where I realize I can’t do that.
I feel like that saying is true, you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. I have this friend who just started to really diet and exercise, and he’s become so positive, and he’s like, “It’s crazy what positivity can do to you.” And I was sharing that with another friend, but this other friend was like, “It’s not like he’s reinventing the wheel with these ideas.” But for some people, like for me, you have to realize these things on your own for it to really click. People can keep drilling things into your head for years, but it’s not until you fully comprehend and understand it that it starts to affect you.
That’s why I feel like, right now, at this point in my life, I feel talented. I feel like I’m at a good place where I can do these things, and I know what I want, and I can see it. And I have goals and I’m ready to do it now, right now.
Where can we find you on social media?
Twitter is kind of where I write out jokes and ideas for stand-up. On Instagram, I do these highlights. I have this one character that I do that I love. It’s called Why Do I. It’s this actress who’s doing commercials, but then the line hits too close to home. It’s kind of a Debbie Downer character.
Thanks for tuning in!
Thank you so much for being a part of this, and tune in next time for more awesome conversations on comedy.
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