Local actor appears in film; Johnston City's Adam Kee says he's enjoying his career
NEW YORK - Johnston City native Adam Kee knew as a young child that he wanted to act for a living.
Now 38, the actor and voice coach recalls the moment he realized his calling.
"I probably was about 9 or 10 years old, about third grade, when the acting bug bit. I was in Mrs. Lowe's class in Washington School," the actor recalls. "I was doing a production of, what was it, 'The Trials of Tommy the Tooth.' In Act One, the tooth is very white and very health, and in Act Two, he has all these cavities because he's been a bad tooth. I was late for my cue in Act Two and they said, "Tommy, where are you, where are you?' I was offstage, messing my hair up and trying to make my face look bad to get the emotional transition, and that's when I knew it. I said, 'I have to do this for the rest of my life.'"
Kee continued to star in numerous musicals and plays throughout the southern Illinois region through college.
"I had a lot of great teachers and great theater teachers when I was still there (in southern Illinois) and had a great time working with local theater groups. When I went to college, I also had a lot of great teachers and good chances for training, experience and that," Kee said. "When I came to New York, I said I don't want to just move to New York, start auditioning for stuff and hope something happens. I wanted to get even more time to work on the craft, so I went to grad school in New York and started working while I was in grad school."
That work led to his role in "The Garden Left Behind," a feature film about a trans woman who also is an undocumented immigrant trying to make her way through life in New York City. The film opened in select theaters and video-on-demand in late August.
"I've been out here in New York for about 15 years. I went to grad school out here at the Actors Studio and I've been working about 99 percent of the time in theater and voice-over work, in local theater, regional theater and New York theater. After grad school, I got into teaching on the side, teaching dialect and doing voice work when I'm not working on a show. One of my clients in the film told me a few years ago, 'Adam, I'm working on this film, it's not being shot yet but there's a screenplay, and I wonder if you'd be willing to talk to the director about doing some voice coaching for the person playing the lead and working with voice and accent, and I said, 'Yeah,'" Kee recalled.
"So, I met with the director and producer and they showed me the script. I was then introduced to the lead actress, and they said, 'In terms of salary, here's what we're thinking. Is there anything else you would need?' And something went off in my brain and I said, "Well, I'd like to have a part in it or something.' And they said, 'We can do that. Several roles haven't been cast yet.'"
Kee said the role he ended up playing is at the beginning of the film.
"It comes in right at the beginning. I play a drunk guy who gets into the lead actress' cab and then I throw up in the cab right before the title comes up on the screen," he continued.
"The Garden Left Behind" began production in 2015, and director Flavio Alves said that besides subject matter, financing the film was a groundbreaking effort. Alves said it's the first nationally released film to be financed by crowdsourcing through eBay.
"We needed money to film, of course, and I had some very high quality old film equipment that I put on eBay. That stuff is still very popular with filmmakers, and we were able to get a lot of money for it," Alves said. "So, we decided to see if people had things they would donate to us that we could sell. The result was incredible. We raised $104,000 for the film in that way."
It was so successful, he said, that he plans to raise $1 million for his next project the same way.
Producer Roy Wol said he also feels the film is groundbreaking with its inclusivity and casting accuracy.
"This is a project where we had all these different perspectives coming in, and we tried to include all of that," Wol said. "In that way, this film is intersectional. I think it's an important part of making a film"
While COVID-19 has left many theaters shuttered or just recently opened, Wol and Alves said they were undaunted in releasing the film in 2020.
"Actually, releasing it this year has been very beneficial to us," Alves said. "You have fewer films coming out, which means there have been many more people who are looking for something new to watch. Plus, being available through video-on demand means people who are being safe and staying home can watch it easily."
After hitting the film festival circuit, "The Garden Left Behind" has won numerous awards, including the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
It's available to rent or purchase on Amazon.com.
The film features actors Ed Asner and Michael Madsen and introduces actress Carlie Guevara in the lead role of Tina Carrera.
Meanwhile, Kee, the southern Illinois native, said he feels fortunate to be involved in the film and to make a career of acting.
"'The Garden Left Behind' is the biggest film I've been involved with, but not the biggest role I've had in film," Kee said. "I always tell people I've been here in New York 15 years as an actor and voice-over person and never had to wait tables. In that regard, I'm very lucky."
Editor's note: Adam Kee is the son of Marion Republican editor Holly Kee and her husband, Roger.