Kevin Isola is a self-described journeyman actor, who has experienced great longevity in several media, including theatre, television and film. The Pasadena native attended Duke University, and consequently studied acting at NYU-Tisch, where he discovered the value of being freed-up creatively through faculty who mentored and pushed his creative strengths. We discuss a major moment in his career, which came when he played Rev in the hit 1997 play, The New Bozena, alongside friends and Tisch classmates David Costabile (Lincoln; Billions; Breaking Bad; Low Winter Sun), Michael Dahlen (Blue Man Group; Men in Black II); and Rainn Wilson (The Office; Super; Juno), the latter serving as director. The experience was a trial by fire of navigating an original, creative property which flourished in New York to its sale to Twentieth Century Fox, and being immersed into the Hollywood system. In theatre, Kevin has appeared in WASP and Other Plays (Written by Steve Martin); Twelfth Night; Brooklyn Boy (on Broadway); Accidental Death of an Anarchist; Venus; and Everett Beekin (by Obie Award winner Evan Yionoulis). He was recently in Our Lady of 121st Street (Off-Broadway) and Life Sucks, a reimagined adaptation of the Anton Chekhov classic Uncle Vanya, in which he played Vanya. He has appeared in films such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey); Blumenthal (Brian Cox); and Academy Boyz (Ed Asner). His numerous television credits include Billions; Damages; Fringe; Boston Legal; Elementary; Bull; and Law & Order. He has returned to his alma mater, Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where he previously earned an MFA, as Adjunct Professor in the Graduate Acting Department to teach courses on Shakespeare’s Clowns and Advanced Clowning Techniques. In our talk, we discuss his unique journey into several of these creative experiences, including developing recurring character arcs on television; finding himself on the stage through genuine mentors; the evolution of clowning; the irreverant comedy of the web-series Mommy Blogger (Tricia Paoluccio); and working with Glenn Close, Damian Lewis and C.J. Wilson.
Opening Credits: UP Paolo Pavan Pasqualino Ubaldini - 06 five special blues I Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0); Closing Credits: Another Brick - 1. Refraction I Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)