Interview with Kai Kay

Kai Kay started doing YouTube videos when he was 9 years old, and for fun. That turned into writing and directing. When Kai Kay was in the 6th grade, he did his first school play and had to dance (Lol). In the 7th grade, Kai Kay played Lumiere and he was hooked on acting! Kai loved hearing the audience respond to everything. People were coming up to him during intermission and at the end, telling him that they were enjoying his performance and he felt very proud. Kai Kay felt great knowing his performance made people laugh!​

New YouTube video up! https://t.co/pa1siQP3eS #SketchComedy #KarateMaster #Cooking #CleanComedy #ComedySketch #Skit #Comedy #KaiKay 🥋👨‍🍳😂

— Kai Kay (@KaiKaysTweets) March 7, 2017

Did you study acting
​In school, I had drama class and participated in after-school drama activities, as well as school plays​, like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Little Mermaid”​. Other than that, I watch videos online from casting directors, coaches and other actors or people in the industry for tips and advice. I also use old sides and scripts to practice with. I’ll read each line and try to interpret many different ways to say it and make them all different characters. Like, “Would you like to go to see a movie?”… I would say it as a nice guy, then a conceited guy, a nerd, with shyness and then I would start doing accents with it (laughs) like a country person, or Aussie, or some made-up silly accent! I get a little “Jim Carrey” sometimes (mimics and laughs)!! I think there are some things that can be taught, but, you mostly have to have a passion for it and just be able to feel what those characters would feel, and that is just something that is pulled from your own experiences and something you have to teach yourself to do.

Kai kay on Set – H2 Oh No-Adventures in Time and States

What acting technique do you use
I just pull emotions from life experience. If I have never felt or experienced something in the script, I will try to imagine myself in the situation, in real life, and try to feel as if it were actually happening to me, then, I play off of that experience and emotions.​

What wrong impressions do actors hold about acting
Mostly, that it’s not “glamorous”, nor should you expect it to be! When “all is said and done, acting is still a business. I don’t want to be an actor because I want people to put five dollar bottled water in my dressing room. I want to be respected as an actor and a person. I don’t need or want people to fall at my feet. I just want to make people laugh and entertain them, all while being a role model. I want to make a difference.

Also, acting is not as “easy” as many actors ​think​,​ when starting. You sometimes have a camera two feet from your face and a green screen all around you… you don’t have an “atmosphere” to pull your emotion from… you just have to “find it” somehow. You don’t always get a million dollar set that makes you feel as if you are in the world you are portraying, but, you always need to give a million dollar performance, nonetheless. Passion is what pulls you through many things in the entertainment industry. If you are in it for anything else, you may have a very difficult road, and, with passion, it’s difficult enough! ​

Kai KAy screenshot from-The Black Friday Games

Do you take courses to improve your craft
Mostly, I watch online coaching videos and online classes or workshops. Also, I watch many casting director videos, where they give tips and advice on auditioning. I also study, by watching films and TV, how actors act their lines. You can learn a lot from just watching sometimes. I live in a smaller market, so, it is difficult to find great classes, and when you can find them, it’s usually for smaller kids, or older adults. (chuckles) I’m kinda stuck right there in the middle zone, for now.​

What acting books do you read
I’ve always been more of a visual person, so, not much of a reader of books, but, I do read articles online from acting sites for tips and advice. The internet is great!! (laughs)​ ​

How do you keep fit as an actor
Mentally, ​I just don’t let things “get to me”. If I’m told, “No”, I just tell myself that there is always another opportunity around the corner and I keep myself busy, regardless. ​I am always reciting lines as I go about my day. My Mom will yell to me, “Are you talking to me?”, and I’ll be like, “No, just saying lines!” (chuckles) She’s pretty used to it by now. I also create my own content for my YouTube channel​s​ and my ROKU channel, so, that helps me work at my craft, as well. Physically, I’m a teenager, with good​,​​ ​inherited metabolism, so, my daily activities are still keeping me fit and I don’t have to work on it too much (laughs), but, I do a lot of prat falls and things like that when creating material, so, I’m sure that helps, to some degree too.​​

Kai Kay, Juliana Schoettler, Chao Sung, and Jewel Gilbert in What We Do (2016)

How do yo prepare for a role, when you get it
I read the script a few times, then I kinda whisper them to myself until I have them memorized. After I have the script memorized, I read while acting out the lines on camera. I watch it back and make adjustments where I think it’s needed. Then, on set, I make any adjustments the director asks of me.​​ ​

How do you create a character from a script into a person
After I memorize the script, I pull emotion from personal experiences. Sometimes, especially with comedy, I feel a character should speak with an “accent” or certain type voice, so, I will say the lines that way a few times until I think something really fits. Sometimes I just raise my voice to be higher, because my deeper voice doesn’t seem to fit some comedic characters (laughs). All roles are different and my technique is a little different from character to character, but, mostly, I just keep working with it until it just feels “right”.​

How do you stay fresh on set
I don’t actually try to stay in character between cuts (laughs). When it’s time to do the scene again, after a cut, I just turn the character back on. It’s easier in comedy than in drama sometimes, especially if it’s a really emotional scene, but, in that case, I just stay kinda quiet, so, I don’t let my silly side back up too much (chuckles)!​

Describe a memorable character you played
I will never forget playing Lumiere in “Beauty and the Beast”! I loved playing Lumiere… the costume, the French accent and the live audience! What could’ve been better?! It was also the moment I knew I wanted to act for life! A moment I will never forget (smiles).​

Explain one creative choice you took on set
In a comedy sketch, at the end, I was supposed to stay straight-faced and recite a line sarcastically. After a few takes, instead of reciting the line, I spun around, crazily, as if I was fed-up and was about to explode (mimics and laughs)! I actually smacked one of my knuckles against my other hand in the process and it hurt pretty badly (laughs).​ That take wasn’t used for the sketch, but, it did find it’s way to the blooper reel! (smiles)​ ​

What do you want most from a director
I like a director who lets me know when I’m doing well and when they want something different. If I’m doing it one way, and you want it another… tell me and I will make the adjustment. I don’t want a director to ever finish a shoot and remember me as the actor who “Didn’t get it”. Sometimes people interpret things in different ways and if what I interpret isn’t what the director wants, talk to me about it and we can make adjustments to make us both happy. On the other hand, I also would like my interpretation to be respected and understood as just that… another interpretation… not that it’s “wrong”. Oh, and a director who gets right down there with his actors is the best!​ Not just one “behind the camera”.

What actors do you long to work with
Kevin James​

Why
He is one of my comedic heroes! “King of Queens” is one of my favorite shows. He can take a line that many do not see ​the ​”funny” in and makes it funny; by just his facial expression or some kind of physical movement, or simply by saying the line in a funny way with his voice. I love physical comedy! He also keeps his comedy relatively “clean” and that is respectable. I would love to work with him (chuckles), especially in a scene that’s a “yelling match”! (laughs)

What advice would you give to actors
If acting is your passion, stick with it. There are many stories of respected actors who heard “No” many times before “making it”. Never give up! Have supportive people around you and if they are not supportive, don’t have them around you. Negativity spreads, I personally prefer butter.​ ​

Briefly write about your career
I started on YouTube, then did school plays. My first professional job was actually a music video where I had to dance (laughs).​ I have been on ID Network shows a couple of times and one of those was the first time I had speaking lines on TV.

My film, “4:18″​ is currently ​​in the film festival circuit. I have completed a pilot and have auditioned countless times for major networks and films. I create my own content on ROKU under my channel FamilyDEN with ​my production company. ​I​ have a YouTube channels for skits and vlogs and another for gaming,. Creating my own content has opened many doors I may not have had opened if I weren’t throwing myself out there. I live in a smaller market, so, it’s not as easy to get started (chuckles), but, I’m slowly moving forward.

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