MEET ACTRESS KENYA STEWART HUNTSVILLE ALABAMA NATIVE

I was born and raised in Huntsville, Alabama. I enjoyed my city because most of my family lived there and it’s all I really knew. My parents always encouraged me to read, therefore I had a huge imagination filled with adventure and big goals and dreams. As I grew older, I started to realize that my interests, opinions, and viewpoints were vastly different from my peers and family and often left me feeling misunderstood and alone. I wanted more out of life, specifically related to the arts but didn’t know the path to get there. So when I received a scholarship and an opportunity to be a part of the children’s touring program I jumped eagerly right on it! I transferred from Calhoun Community College and majored in Theatre with a concentration in Performance at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

What inspired you to pursue acting?

I started at a young age reading books and I thoroughly enjoyed them. While reading, I brought my personality, animation and spunk. Which was alot different than what my peers were doing at that time. I found it extremely exciting to stand out. Some of the other teachers would recommend me to their classes to read for the younger grades. Every time I read, the individual characters all seemed to come alive and jump right off the page. I noticed I wasn’t just reading the words, I was acting it. Acting seems fun I thought. Then one year when I was 12, my dad took my sister and cousin to Six Flags. At that time, there was a WB voice-over booth, and inside were headphones, a snippet of the scene playing, and a script to read into the microphone. I remember it just like it was yesterday. I played Catwoman, my cousin played Batman and my dad played the penguin. When it was my turn to read my line, “You never call, You never write” I gave it all the passion and sass I had with my one line *hahaha*!!! What I didn’t realize, is that the people outside could hear us LIVE on the intercom! Afterward, several people came up to me and complimented me, they told me how amazing I was and how I should be an actress. One of the staff members told my dad about a WB audition coming up and how I should audition for it. Now the videotape audition was a complete BUST *hahaha* and I didn’t get the role! However, that experience started the path to understanding specifically how I wanted my future to look and what I liked. From there I took my craft to church plays and wrote poems and stories to perform around my family any chance I could.

How is acting in theatre different from motion picture acting?

When I first started on camera screen work a few director’s notes given to me was,be more subtle”, “less is more” and “don’t speak too loudly the person is right in front of you”.Most of the time in a larger theatrical space, there’s no such thing as close ups to capture the actors subtle moments, which could perhaps be missed by the audience. In the beginning, it was challenging to do multiple takes back to back to back. The multiple camera angles could cause the scene to be repetitive. Sometimes I was on set for 10 to 12 hours a day. Whereas in theatre I. performed 1 show a day/night maybe 2 , and then I was out. I found the balance in playing and having a free range in my choices but also knowing when to stick to the same line reads multiple times for the sake of continuity. I also learned how to maximize my energy and what to do with my time when I wasn’t in front of the camera acting. I have had over one month to prepare for performances which included meeting the cast, table reads, character development, building chemistry, memorizing lines, researching, group collaboration etc. But with filming the rehearsal time can be extremely short, maybe a table read or possibly rehearsals were completely non-existent. I appreciate both forms of acting and even though the basic skill of acting is the same, for me different tools are used to display an authentic performance in both on camera or on stage.

Congratulations on starring in your first lead role recently! Tell us more about how your outlook has changed since this accomplishment?

Thank you so much!!! Every project and experience teaches me something or helps redefine and remember something I already knew about myself or about the industry. A few lessons that I learned that have changed my outlook and I constantly keep in my back pocket throughout my acting adventures are; the power of connections and building genuine authentic relationships with people, being prepared, flexible, and adaptable to change, having my improv skills in my back pocket ready to come out and play, having my tools for anxiety readily available to help me cope in case a flare-up tries to arise, the significance of breath, being grounded and above all else believing in myself and God.

What’s Next?

I began recording in the studio for voiceover for a suspense thriller podcast next week which I’m really excited about! I am currently seeking an aligned agent to build with my management team. I’m enjoying co-writing and co-producing a psycho-thriller episodic which has been surprisingly exhilarating to help build from the ground up. I find myself growing deeper and deeper in my acting master class at AMAW where a surprise industry director, casting director, etc. visits once a month to view our work. I have also found a new self-care outlet by going on solo hiking and trail adventures. I’m learning to embrace my healing journey and seeking different artistic avenues to express myself through varied mediums of art. Just between you and me, the guitar and stand-up comedy have been calling my name- loudly lately *hehehe*! But I’m looking forward to allowing myself to learn new skills and outlets to express myself and just play freely. Recently, I have had the pleasure of co-hosting and speaking for the first time at a podcast and content creation networking event. I went to my first open mic where I sporadically jumped up on the mic and performed a recent poetic journal entry that was downloaded to me. It was so vulnerable but I felt so electrifying in a good way! It’s truly been nice to find a healthy balance between work and life without anxiously awaiting for someone to say yes and book me. I feel like I’m finally learning how to just flow- flow authentically and artistically. I’m extremely grateful for the life experiences and the people in my life.