This year has been very exciting for Canadian actress, producer and screenwriter Carolyn Bridget Kennedy. Her critically acclaimed comedy web series Danger Pay and short film Super Speed Dates have been nominated at numerous international film festivals and she obtained an O-1 Visa to work in the United States as an actor, writer, and producer.

At the start of 2017 things were looking good for Carolyn, [read my first interview with her here] but now things are even better and she is more than determined to take her creative professional endeavours a step further. “Getting the O-1 Visa means a lot to me,” she says, “because it enables me to work in the United States as well as opens more doors for me and my projects. Right now I’m perfectly happy living in Calgary, it’s home to me, but you never know what the future has in store for you. If it’s logistically necessary for a film or television project for me to spend an extended period of time in Los Angeles, I might stay there for a while. You often have certain ideas or specific plans, but life kind of dictates what happens.”

Turning Danger Pay into a television series
Carolyn was working on the follow up of the first season of Danger Pay, but then something happened that put the filming process on hold. “After attending the Banff World Media Festival this year, we received some network interest in developing Danger Pay into a television series, thanks to the attention we got at a number of different film festivals,” Carolyn explained. “So now I’m working on writing a pilot script, with more characters and a deeper background story. I’m excited to see where it goes!”

First feature film
In the near future she’s also focussing on creating her first feature film script. “I’m writing a comedy script based on a few ideas that have been with me for two years. I really want to get some significant writing done in the next couple of months.  Earlier this year, I attended the Toronto Screenwriting Conference.  I’m also still working on honing my acting skills further by taking improvisation courses.”

Benefits of combining three professions
“It’s a busy time, but I would be devastated if I had to give up either acting, writing or producing. Acting enables me to play the characters I developed myself, who are perfect fits for me to portray. When it comes to writing, it’s amazing to have the freedom to create a whole world by yourself. My short film Super Speed Dates was born during an early morning brainstorm session and only a few weeks later we had brought the whole story to life with a great team of actors and crew members. Producing is the least creative portion of my work, but that’s where my former profession and skills as a paralegal come into play. The emphasis of the job lies in problem solving and the logistical problems that you face while making a film or series. For now, all three seem to be working for me. It doesn’t feel like work, because I love and enjoy it. There is nothing else I’d rather be doing.”

Lots of support
Luckily, Carolyn doesn’t have to do it all by herself. “I work with a lovely team of talented people and I’m really grateful that my husband is so supportive of me and the work I do. He’s always there when I need a word of encouragement and he makes sure we take the time to celebrate the successes. He’s been with me and has supported me throughout this whole career journey, from being a paralegal to working in the creative entertainment industry. And we’re looking forward to all that’s yet to come!”

Film festivals
Carolyn Bridget Kennedy’s short film Super Speed Dates has been getting a lot of attention from film festivals all over the world, such as the Austin Revolution Film Festival (Texas, US), the Winchester Short Film Festival (UK) and the Toronto Independent Film Festival 2017. After it is completed its submissions in film festivals, Super Speed Dates will be released online in early 2018.  The comedy web series Danger Pay has received multiple nominations at the LA Web Fest and Asia Web Awards, and is an official selection of Roma Web Fest and Web Fest New York. You can view Danger Pay on YouTube and on Will Ferrell’s comedy website Funny or Die. Keep up to date with Carolyn’s work at her official website.

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