MADEFEATURES MADEXXXX
MADE : This story is already off to a great start .
KEL : But then as I started doing theater with ETA , Goodman Theater and Victory Gardens Theater , I started doing plays over there as well and then this audition came through for All That which was a sketch comedy show for kids and nothing like that had come to Chicago . They were doing a nationwide search and I was like , " Okay , I ’ ve got to get this ".
And I remember I was at CVS ( shoutout to the Cavaliers ), I was at CVS High School and I had tests all that week and finals . And I remember , usually I don ' t forget my monologue but because I had finals that day I got to the audition and I remember I just went blank .
I was already late because usually my mom would take me to the auditions but my dad took me and we were late . And so , we got there , I walked in and they were putting the cameras up ! So I was like " Ahh man " and they were like " Go ahead and just do it .” So I auditioned , I forgot my lines and went blank . After I went blank , they were like “ Well you want to go outside and practice it ?” And I was like " Oh man I ' ve ruined this audition ." I ' ve been through auditions before . I ' ve done a lot of plays so I went in the hallway practiced it , came back in and murdered it .
MADE : Definitely . Sounds like you just needed a minute to get it back together .
KEL : I did a real good job and then after that they were like “ Just do impersonations ” and I always impersonations from like my teachers in Chicago and my uncles and I used to ride the CTA and the L . I used to always
Be an innovator . Be someone totally different . Stay in your lane .
mimic people that I saw when I would be on the train and listening to hip hop on my walkman , so I just did all those different characters . I mean they went crazy . They were just cracking up and then 2 or 3 weeks went by .
Now you know , anybody in acting knows that if two weeks went by , you probably didn ' t get it but two weeks went by . I remember it really well . I was praying in my room and I had a feeling like I knew that I was going to go other places , not just stay in Chicago .
I remember sitting there praying and I was getting in my bed and the phone rang and my mom was like “ Hello ?” And then , she did the whole " Oh Lord . Thank you Jesus . Oh Lord !" She was running around the house and I was like " What happened ?" She was like “ We are we going to LA !” I had to audition again so I had to go to LA and go against all of these other kids because it was a nationwide search but you know I got it . I got the part and man ever since it ’ s just been going .
MADE : Wow , that story is amazing !
KEL : ( laughs ) Thank you . made-magazine . com | 29