MEET KELLYE ROWLAND
As a human whose life trajectory looks more like a jagged line than a smooth upward tilt, Kellye has now put down roots in the theatre town of New York City. You may recognize Kellye from her two-year stint with Jay Leno, bringing late night comedy to the Monica Lewinsky scandal* on THE TONIGHT SHOW. She is also the latiest late bloomer who ever bloomed, and graduated from Smith College with a degree in Theatre and Philosophy at 42. Her outlook on storytelling and really just livin’ in this world can be distilled down to the words of the philosopher, Nagarjuna: “Every view is a partial view.” If you ask her about Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein however, the most maddening explainer of the world ever, she will most likely run away screaming. Google him. I dare ya. But I digress…
Kellye’s vibe is part everyone’s-favorite-nurse/therapist, part unhinged alcoholic; a strong, grounded, funny empath with a vulnerable intensity. She just co-produced and is a lead in her own original series “Peri-Street” (logline: A group of cohorts band together to help each other through a new phase of life: one that promises to be HOT) and plans to shoot more episodes in the coming months. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, the lovely evergreen Washington state to be exact, Kellye has lived and worked in L.A. and San Diego as well as in her current home, New York City.
**COMMENCE RANT: I have a huge problem attaching her name to the word “scandal” here and let me tell ya why: It should be called the Bill Clinton scandal, he was the employer, he was the most powerful man on earth, it was *his* scandal not hers, and I have a big issue with labeling it with her name because I feel it’s unfair to women just, historically really, and I’m sick of it, plus I have an affinity with her of sorts now, however weird that might sound. The amount of bashing that poor young woman took was otherworldly and I will not attach her name to it without this caveat like it was that young 22-year-old’s weight to bear. I have felt conflicted about the whole thing for years, even when I was doing the skits, which I even mentioned in the Access Hollywood interview they did with me at the time. So, to sum up: Bill Clinton scandal, his shame not hers, I will not contribute to the bullshit patriarchal view of “sex scandals.” Whew. There. I feel better now. RANT OVER**
So, since “every view is a partial view”, what can we create from the well of decidedly non-patriarchal views?
RECENT PRESS
PERI STREET
Peri Street, a new series co-produced and starring Kellye, was just selected as an Official Selection for the New York Movie Awards and Los Angeles International Indie Short Film Fest!
Most recently, it WON Best Short Comedy for the Couch Film Festival!! and is an official selection for The Chain Film Festival in New York City.
“The cast is uniformly excellent. In many roles Kellye Rowland is a gentle, insistent presence. Particularly as a social worker who has just lost her fiancé…she has just the right touch of the therapist’s compassion mixed with her own clear needs for confirmation and companionship.”
“Kellye Rowland is thoroughly engaging as Abbie. She has a sense of humor that illuminates what she does. It shines right through her eyes. Attractive and engaging, she’s a pleasure to watch as she morphs through the other two women in Duck’s life — his mother and his wife…”