(photo by Jim Barcus)
In her pursuit of “Black Girl Magic,” the young Kansas City actress is garnering roles and acclaim
Black Girl Magic,” a popular term for the achievements, beauty and strength of Black women, is Kansas City actress Ashley Kennedy’s inspiration. She loves it when she sees it and is committed to radiating it herself.
On stage, on film and in life, she seeks to embody that magic.
In January Kennedy shone in Kansas City Actors Theatre’s production of “Smart People,” playing a young MFA actor forced to clean houses to fund her Ibsen and Shakespeare plans. KC Studio’s Vivian Kane called her a “standout” in the show; The Pitch said, “the four-person cast absolutely bowls over the material with their tremendous performances.”
Two years after she graduated from the Theatre Department at the University of Kansas, KC audiences saw Kennedy in the Unicorn’s spring 2017 production of “Eclipsed,” the theater’s first all-female cast/crew production, dealing with the captive wives of a Liberian warlord. Kansas City Star critic Christine Pivovar hailed Kennedy as “the show’s comic relief” in her role as Bessie, the pregnant wife number three. This was in an African dialect, no less.
Preceding her Kansas City debut were multiple appearances at KU’s University Theatre, including roles in “Raisin in the Sun,” “Intimate Apparel” and “A Doll’s House.” Kennedy played Juliet at the Lawrence Arts Center; she’s done commercial work for Amazon, U.S. Cellular, Wendy’s and Denny’s.
She also has movies under her belt, beginning with the short films “Sketches” and “The Generation Gap.” She landed an extra part in Kevin Willmott’s “Jayhawkers” and can be seen on Amazon Prime Video in “The Dreams of Rene Sendham” and on YouTube in “The Jog.”
More recently, Kennedy played a witch who has traveled from the past and finds herself in the mind of her great-great-great-niece in “The Unseen,” an indie directed by J.S. Hampton and starring local actors Bri Woods and Donovan Woods. “The Unseen” is currently in post- production and will probably make the festival scene before premiering in the next few months.
By 2020, Kennedy could describe herself as “a full-time” actress. But getting to that point was not without its bumps in the road.
In 2019, Kennedy packed her bags and cat, Mango, and headed to California, where a friend from Lawrence, now a barber in L.A., mentioned her to a customer who was a talent agent. Kennedy signed with Aqua a few months later.
It’s what she had first imagined when a high school teacher had taken her class on a career day field trip to meet KC-area casting directors and agents. Acting had “clicked” for her when she’d performed a monologue for a drama class in middle school.
But Kennedy’s California dreams seemed to go up in smoke when COVID hit and she returned home, losing “an opportunity that felt like it had traction and momentum.”
Now, however, she sees her return to Kansas City as “THE best decision.” “I kept my agent in L.A.,” she said, “flew back and forth when necessary and linked back up with my KC agent and continued doing commercial work for them as well. Once I got my bearings, 2021 ended up being one of the most financially successful years of my life. I had always had side jobs serving . . . but this was the first time I solely relied on (acting) to pay my bills.”
Since 2020, the theater field has greatly advanced its use of technology, allowing for self-tapes and online auditions. In KC, Kennedy created her own studio with lighting, backdrops and a mic setup. “I used to think you had to live where ‘things were happening,’ she said, “which is why I felt so stripped leaving L.A.” But this new reality fit her to a T. “I gave myself permission to navigate my career in my own way.”
That included finding a sense of community missing in L.A., reconnecting with family and friends. In KC, she fell in love and is now engaged: “We ended up buying a house and remodeled it from the top down.” And for the first time, she now loves to cook. “I couldn’t chop an onion to save my life pre-pandemic, but my meals have a lot of razzle dazzle these days” — and someone to appreciate it.
This summer Kennedy officially signed with Shirley Hamilton Talent Chicago, adding to her representation by Exposure in Kansas City and Aqua in L.A.
Looking ahead, Kennedy would like to follow in the footsteps of American actress and activist Issa Rae. “It was awe-inspiring to see her bring her vision of “Insecure” to life on HBO,” Kennedy said. “She’s a writer, director, actor and a Black woman . . . just super talented — and really funny, too.”
And Rae definitely has that Black Girl Magic that Kennedy so admires.
