What would you do if you went through one of the least creative times in your life? Kelly Taylor turned it into a solo show! Un (Capital F) Famous! is Kelly’s latest work which is coming to the Red Sandcastle Theatre this fall. I get to ask her about her inspiration for the show and what audiences can expect from Un (Capital F) Famous!.

1. Could you please introduce yourself to my readers and tell us about your role with Un (Capital F) Famous!?

Hi! I’m Kelly Taylor. I’m an actor, writer and producer, and I’m the co-writer and producer of Un (Capital F) Famous!, as well as playing Lavender, one of the two characters in the show. So I’m wearing quite a few hats with this one! It’s been really exciting getting to create something from the ground up and then actually get to step onstage and bring one of those characters to life.

2. Where did you get your inspiration for this show?

The show was really inspired by the best year I’d had creatively, followed almost immediately by the absolute worst year I’d had creatively. I went from feeling like everything was happening for me to going an entire year without booking a single role. I was also essentially fired from another show I had been part of when I was the only cast member who wasn’t asked back.

It was a pretty brutal shift, and it made me think a lot about how much of our self-worth as artists can get tied up in whether someone else chooses us. That became the initial spark for the show. From there, we took the story in a much more fictional direction rather than making it autobiographical, but that feeling of suddenly wondering, “Okay, what do I do when nobody is choosing me?” is very much where it started.

3. What’s been your favourite part about the creative process so far?

Creating something new is always my favourite part. There’s something really special about that initial idea and spark, and then putting pen to paper and watching it slowly become an actual story is kind of magical.

I also love getting to work with my favourite writing partner, Melly Magrath. It was really fun for us to take the original inspiration and push the story into a much more fictional direction. Once Lavender and Jade started becoming their own people, the show really began to take on a life of its own.

4. What are you most looking forward to about bringing this work to life?

I think I’m most excited to finally put it in front of an audience. You spend so much time with something when you’re writing and rehearsing it that you almost forget there’s eventually going to be a room full of people experiencing it for the first time.

Especially with a comedy, there’s nothing quite like finally hearing where an audience laughs, what they connect with, and which moments surprise them. I’m also really excited to finally step into Lavender’s shoes in front of an audience after spending so much time creating her.

5. What do you hope audiences take away from Un (Capital F) Famous!?

First and foremost, I hope they laugh! It’s a comedy, and I want people to have a genuinely fun time.

But underneath that, I really hope people leave feeling inspired. So much of this show is about what happens when the opportunities you thought were going to define you disappear and you have to decide what comes next.

I especially hope other artists connect with the idea that you don’t always have to wait for somebody else to give you permission or choose you. Sometimes you have to create your own opportunity. This show itself really came out of that philosophy, so if someone leaves thinking, “Maybe I should finally make that thing I’ve been talking about making,” that would mean a lot to me.

I want to thank Kelly for taking the time to answer my questions! Un (Capital F) Famous! runs at the Red Sandcastle Theatre from October 8 – 11. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/un-capital-f-famous-tickets-1996816323376

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