Artistic Director
phillip.kelly@theatreunleashed.com

Phillip Kelly has spent most of his life entrenched in some form of storytelling or another. He began writing at the age of 10 and acting at the age of 12. Having received kudos from his family and teachers he blindly decided to make it a career path. He spent the next 6 years learning by doing, continuing his passion for acting on the stage through the end of high school. During this time his passion for film also grew and he enrolled in the well regarded Minneapolis Community and Technical College film program. At the time it was rated in the top three community film programs in the nation. Here he learned to produce and direct - receiving degrees in film production, screenwriting, post production and film theory. It also sharpened his skills as an on camera actor.

In 2001 he earnestly moved to Los Angeles to pursue his film career. As a working actor he has attained the status of SAG and has continued his writing and filmmaking work, finishing 4 short films, 3 feature scripts, working as an editor on other filmmaker's short projects, working as a producer with Snow Frog Productions, working as a Producer’s Assistant at Bruce Cohn Curtis Films and helping to start a personalized documentary business called Encore Road Productions. Learning the ins and outs of the film and production world along the way, he often also learned what not to do from his superiors.

But film wasn't enough, the theatre bug bit once again when he won an award for Best Supporting Actor in the Theatre Palisades’ production of Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, where his Schmendimann received a standing ovation every night. Soon after, he became a part of Write Act Repertory Theatre in Hollywood. He starred in several shows and produced, directed and starred in a Charlie Chaplin Review. But it wasn’t enough. After three years of lending his skills to other peoples’ visions he decided it was time to create something of his own.

After helping to mount an incredibly well received telling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he broke off with several of his fellow Midsummer compatriots to create a new theatre company, Theatre Unleashed, where he hopes his unique voice, talent and passion for telling meaningful stories as an artist will translate into his work as not only an actor, writer, producer and director but as Artistic Director. He has starred in over 25 theatrical productions and 3 independent films. Some of this work can be viewed under two separate places on IMDB.com. His insights into film and his work in Los Angeles can be read on his blog, Philzine.

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