In an acting class during her sophomore year of college, University of Idaho alumna Park Williams learned the meaning of life from Kelly Quinnett.
Williams said the acting professor sat in a circle with her students and pondered the human fascination with the meaning of life before providing an answer of her own.
David Black | Argonaut
“She put her hand on the student next to her, looked us in the eyes and said, “This is the meaning of life. Connection is the meaning of life. Love is the meaning of life,”” Williams said. “I was just, jaw on the ground, like “Woah, she is amazing and just gave me the key to the universe.””
Connecting with others is an action Quinnett has encouraged in her students since she began teaching at the university in 1998.
She said the key to connecting with others is to be open and genuine even in the smallest of moments.
“Most people are so afraid of opening themselves up, and yet it”s the very thing everyone is wanting,” Quinnett said. “I always tell my students too – that”s how you connect your life. At the end, you will weave your life together with moments of connectedness that only happen when you”re brave enough to be open to them.”
Despite her extensive experience with acting, the Kentucky native didn”t perform in her first play until her senior year of high school.
Quinnett received a full-ride acting scholarship to Northern Kentucky University, moved to New York following graduation and was placed under development by ABC, appearing in shows such as “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.”
During her time in New York, Quinnett said her friends set her up with a Knicks player from Cheney, Washington.
“I ended up marrying him and having three beautiful babies with him. We are not married anymore, I remarried an actor and writer,” Quinnett said. “Everything all worked out, but that”s kind of, you know, I guess I”m grateful. I”ll never regret anything, but that”s kind of how I landed here.”
Although she was invited to move back to New York, Quinnett said she decided to stay in Moscow and teach at the university to provide a better life for her children.
“They offered me a job here and I took it for the security and stability for my kids,” Quinnett said. “You can”t beat this town to raise your children and because of my experience as a grad student, I knew this place was special.”
When it comes to working in the classroom, Quinnett, who completed her graduate degree at UI, said she aims to teach students the things she wishes she knew when she was young.
“I think the most important thing is how to be tender with yourself, how to develop a relationship with you that”s not dependent upon what everybody else thinks of you,” Quinnett said. “Especially with this world we live in, with so many stimuli and possibilities of identification, I think it”s really wonderful that I can help people be in a relationship with themselves.”
Quinnett said she believes connectedness is important for every day life, but that is also an essential part of being an actor.
“What people may not consider is that acting is all about the art of recognizing the immense power they have in being vulnerable and open,” Quinnett said. “That the theatre itself is a place where people go to, they flock to, in order to find a transformative, connected experience.”
Quinnett said that connected experience can only be achieved when actors are brave enough to be vulnerable, compassionate and emphatic on the stage.
The kind of vulnerability needed to connect with an audience can be difficult, but Quinnett said she encourages her students to open up and engage with the uncomfortable moments of life.
“I”m always telling them to be OK being uncomfortable,” Quinnett said. “I mean, we”re all creating escape routes whereby we disconnect and don”t engage. It”s just kind of how part of our brains are wired, but I really challenge my students and encourage them to find out what lies beneath when you sit in those uncomfortable moments.”
Williams, who graduated from UI last year, said as a student she was struck by the balance Quinnett managed to maintain in her classes.
“She challenges her students. She”s unwavering in the fact that she wants her students to do the best work they can,” Williams said. “Her classes are rigorous in that she has expectations she wants you to uphold. At the same time, she creates a space that is so warm and so safe.”
Kadin McGreevy, a UI senior majoring in theatre arts, has known Quinnett for most of his life.
McGreevy, whose mother was in the same knitting group as Quinnett throughout his childhood, said he was happy to find that the woman he had grown up knowing was the same both in and outside the classroom.
“She”s consistently herself,” McGreevy said. “I was incredibly pleased to see that the person I”ve known all my life was the same person in the classroom.”
McGreevy said connectedness isn”t just an idea Quinnett encourages in the classroom, but one that she practices in her every day life.
It was on a flight to a theatre conference in Washington, D.C. that McGreevy witnessed this practice first hand.
“We were sitting next to each other and there was a man who was sitting next to her. We struck up a conversation and quickly the conversation became incredibly personal for him and his entire life story kind of flowed out of him,” McGreevy said. “Part of what is so true about Kelly is she has this incredible ability to listen and there”s this inherent safety in her that makes this gruff guy feel so safe to share his story.”
Williams said the value behind Quinnett”s classes is that the professor is not only teaching students how to become better actors, but also how to be better humans.
“Her main teaching principle is all we ever want in this life is to connect with people,” Williams said. “So she teaches from a place very much of, “We are here to connect with people,” so that”s where the safe place comes in. You know she”s coming from the goodness in her heart when she teaches.”
Corrin Bond can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @CorrBond
Marie
Unfortunately, not everyone in the program gets to experience loving mentor described here. The lasting impression I have of Kelly is a very unhappy woman desperately trying to drag others down. I remember the unprofessional woman who taught class with no underwear in skirts that did nothing to hide this fact. I remember the woman who body shamed young actresses and cared more about 'optics' than cultivating a safe place to learn about art. I remember the woman who was too caught up in an affair with a fellow teacher to be available as a role model. I wish I had received the same educational experiences as the student in the article, but I was not that lucky.