Filmmaker Zoë Kelly (’23) co-wrote, produced and acted in “Stockton to Table Rock,” a feature film about a young woman wrestling with whether it’s possible to forgive her abusive mother. Her alma mater, Boise State University, was there to help.
“Honestly, ‘Stockton to Table Rock’ probably wouldn’t have happened without Boise State and the support that they gave me,” she said.
Much of her crew, actors and production assistants were contacts she’d made through Boise State. That includes Adjunct Prof. Jessica Morris, who plays a leading role in the film.
Catch Kelly and “Stockton to Table Rock” when it premieres at Filmfort, part of Treefort Music Fest: Saturday, March 23, at 5 p.m. at The Flicks.
Zoё Kelly | Boise State Alumni Story
Video Transcript: Zoё Kelly | Boise State Alumni Story
[Zoё Kelly]: I started working in the theater when I was six years old. My mom brought me to a community theater audition, and I sang “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat” in front of a group full of children and adults on a stage. And I got cast in this role.
And I remember it was our first performance, and the stage lights are blasting in my face, so I couldn’t see anyone. But the feeling that erupted in me when the whole crowd stood up and applauded – we call it being “bit by the theater bug” – and I was involved in community theater, high school theater, any type of theater training I could get my hands on.
After high school, I worked some odd jobs – retail, food service… just to try and figure out what I’m going to do with my life. And so I decided, at 26, to go back and to get my degree and to be a sponge and learn everything. And finally, I was ready to jump into undergraduate college.
And I’m so grateful that I got in, because beyond getting an education in theater, Boise State really helped me find myself. And Boise State provided a safe space for me to really understand who I am as an artist – not just an actor – an artist.
When I received the Thelma and Dean Brown Performing Arts Scholarship, it made such a big difference. I have rent, I have bills, I have health insurance, things I have to pay for. So when I was awarded the scholarship, I was finally able to cut back my hours at my survival job. And really during Macbeth, I went down to not working at all, because the show was a six-day-a-week commitment. It was such an intense commitment. I couldn’t possibly have had a job and done the play.
Lady Macbeth was my favorite role I’ve ever done in my life. It was very intimidating, at first, to come to the text because I knew that so many great, very talented actors had done this role before. I researched as much as I could. I did all the Uta Hagen, Stanislavski-esque script work I could, and I like to think it paid off.
I was able to start working for the Idaho Shakespeare Festival because I had a professional recommendation from a professor here. I can finally say it: I am a working professional actor, and it’s taken years to get here, and I really couldn’t have done it without the people that are here at Boise State.
Stockton to Table Rock is a feature film that I co-wrote, produced, and acted in. It’s about a high school senior who confronts her abusive mother and wrestles with whether forgiveness is possible. Honestly, Stockton to Table Rock probably wouldn’t have happened without Boise State and the support and the access that they gave me. A lot of our crew – PAs, things like that – were Boise State film students, and a lot of our actors were Boise State theater students. And one of our actors was my adjunct professor, Jessica Morris. And I wouldn’t have known any of these people without the connections that Boise State offered to us.
We actually get to premiere at Filmfort, which is a part of the Treefort Music Festival here in Boise, Idaho. It feels really fitting that our world premiere for Stockton to Table Rock is here in our hometown, because it couldn’t have been possible without this community at Boise State and in Boise as a whole.
I really wouldn’t be on this path, I believe in my heart, if it weren’t for Gordon Reinhart and Jessica Morris. They not only taught me the skills that I need to do my job, but they believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. And… I don’t think I’ve ever told them, but that is a gift that is priceless.
This dream that I’ve had since I was yay-big is starting to blossom. And I am just so grateful for the tenacity and the confidence that Boise State and everyone here has given me to keep fighting the fight, and keep walking that path, to finally reach my big old dream.