Meet Maureen Kedes | Actress, Writer, Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maureen Kedes and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maureen, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
There are some pieces of advice I give to actors I’ve mentored.

Find that one thing you do, that brings in income, and that you enjoy, so that you are not desperate and dependent on the taste of others. And why I say, “taste” is that whether or not you get a gig is dependent on someone else’s opinion. This business is up and down and you cannot depend on it — until you can. Having outside interests and careers makes you a more interesting person.

Make your own work. No one is going to do it for you. Create, write, act, produce and partner with other creatives.

Instead of asking for something from someone, offer to help them, offer something they might like or need. Even if you are following up with a call or email, make it “value-added.” For example research something they might find useful. And don’t be a pest. Use humor and kindness to your advantage. Put yourself in their shoes.

You better enjoy the process. The opportunity to audition is an opportunity to act. Have fun with all of it. Laugh at the outrageousness, the sometimes rudeness, the kindness. Acknowledge the good stuff and the wins for yourself and others. If you get a callback, enter into it like you got the part and it is opening night.

If you are not enjoying the process, then, yes it’s time to give up.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I came back to the industry after taking more than two decades off to raise my kids and have a normal life. When you leave as an ingenue and come back as a mature woman, not only did everything change in how you are perceived, how the business operates, but it’s also been an uphill battle. I started off understanding that I wasn’t going to be in my trailer doing a guest spot for a major show. I understood that I needed new footage and I saw that there was so much opportunity to get that. I sat on an ice cooler in the park sweating my bootie off to get clips. I did short films, student films, whatever it took. After something doing like 60 plus projects, that were getting better and better in quality as I went along, I’m now finally trying to break through to the mainstream. And I’ve been close a couple of times –so it’s just a matter of time. I also am creating my own opportunities through my writing. And that is going to be my ticket on the A-train.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Besides my incredible boyfriend, friends, family, and my posse of creatives I’ve worked with, who have all been incredibly supportive, my partnership with Keli Price, of Price Productions has been super cool. We love working together and are very symbiotic. Keli has a very methodical, patient way of working that has led him to produce several movies. I’m more like a race horse ready to canter. He’s very respectful and has a lot of integrity. I have written six screenplays and have entrusted his company with four of them. We have found a balance and we are on a roll, so I’m grateful for him and his team.

Website: https://www.maureenkedes.com

Instagram: @maureenkedes

Linkedin: Maureen Kedes

Image Credits
Photographs by Cameron Radicé