Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Napanee native comedienne-writer-actress Deborah Kimmett showcased her dramatic side recently and it earned some high praise from her peers.
Last week the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) labour union announced Kimmett was on their short list for an Outstanding Performance-Female award. She was nominated for her role in a short titled Keep Coming Back, where she plays Patti, an alcoholic attempting to get clean.
While some fans of the Second City alum may be surprised to see her in a serious role, it actually wasn’t too much of a departure for her.
“I was a theatre actor way before I did comedy,” said Kimmett, who has made several appearances on CBC radio shows such as The Debaters and Definitely Not The Opera. “For me it was just a real challenge to do something that was on the edge of funny and serious. There’s funny moments, but it’s not funny.”
As an added bonus, she got to work with her son Brendan Brady, who wrote and directed the short.
“The other part that I was really interested in working with Brendan was the fact he was going to do it in one shot,” said Kimmett. “That meant if there was any mistakes, we had to start over.”
Keep Coming Back runs as one 12 minute scene. It features Patti stumbling in late to AA meeting and then taking over to share the fallout from her latest relapse.
“Everybody had to be in sync with each other,” said Kimmett of shooting one continuous take. “It was a massive team effort. We had about 30 people working on the day. Although I had the pressure of remembering all the lines, everybody had to come together to make this one thing work.”
One small detail was enough to cause a re-take, such as a flubbed line, an incorrect camera pan or a sound outside the church they were filming in getting picked up by the audio. Altogether it took 14 takes to film the final product.
Despite having a huge connection with the director, Kimmett still had to audition to convince her son she was right for the part. In fact before she even tried out she had to suggest a pretty big rewrite.
“I originally had written it for a 25-year-old to play and I wanted to play it myself,” said Brady, who grew up on Amherst Island and works as a producer on the set of ABC’s Designated Survivor. “Obviously I’m lucky enough to have a mom that’s a really distinguished writer. I sent it to her from some notes and then she came back to me and said it’s not going to be surprising to anybody if there’s a 25-year-old guy who can’t stay clean. It would be more effective if it were a 60-year-old woman. I jumped and thought that was amazing. And then my mom was like ‘you should put me in it.’”
He was unsure of the last suggestion until he saw his mom put on the make-up and read the lines. After that he knew he had found his leading lady. He says working with his mom also helped him to better develop the character.
For Kimmett the project was also an opportunity for her to prove to casting directors everywhere that a 60-year-old woman can play more than just a sweet old grandma.
“As an older woman, we don’t get work,” said Kimmett. “No matter shape or size, make or model we are. It was really cool that I got to be part of this, working with my son is a great memory.”
Despite her turn as a serious character, she didn’t lose her signature sense of humour.
“Some actresses flirt with the director,” said Kimmett. “I gave birth to mine. I played the long game, waiting for him to give me work.”
Her peers at ACTRA, which is made up of fellow actors and actresses, agree that it was a good fit and have nominated her alongside the likes of Tantoo Cardinal and Amybeth McNaulty. The winners will be announced Feb. 23 at a gala in Toronto.
Keep Coming Back has been screened at several festivals and was just recently picked up by Air Canada and will be available as part of its in flight entertainment selection starting in March and running through July. Brady says he’s waiting to hear back from a few more festivals before he released the film to the public, which he’ll do on his Vimeo account-Brendan James Brady.
For his next project he’s working on taking one of Kimmett’s most well-known works-the Governor General Award nominated Miracle Mother-and adapting in into a feature film.
As for Kimmett, she too has a busy schedule ahead. She’s working on adapting her special Downward Facing Broad into a CBC radio special and will be making an appearance on The Debaters Feb. 12 in Ottawa.