After years of auditioning for nondescript acting parts in a pre-Hamilton world, Tooky Kavanagh decided to pivot to stand-up comedy as a way of writing her own scripts in a way, and poured her performance art education into her stage presence.
Now, with her latest project, she’s on the big screen, and in no way does she have to sell her dedication to her craft.
Starring in the recently released full-length feature film Salesmen, which houses its in-person big-screen premiere at Arlington’s Capitol Theatre on Thursday (March 24), Kavanagh’s comedic light shines through naturally, as it has on stages all across New England for the past six years. But while the role itself showcases Kavanagh’s funny bone in a different light, her years of determination and acting training had prepared her to take the role more seriously than you might think, and now that she’s on the other side of its release
“More than anything, I’m just really proud of everyone involved,” Kavanagh tells Vanyaland. “We had to work around COVID restrictions since it was filmed during the peak time, so a lot of precaution and care were taken, and everyone in the crew made sure the cast was comfortable on top of the mandates and everything. Not to mention the fact that it was essentially a two-man job doing the bulk behind the scenes, in terms of the creative vision, editing and filming. I had a feeling in the middle of production that it would turn out well, but I had no idea just how well it would, so it’s great to see that vision fully fleshed out and executed so well.”
While it was new territory for Kavanagh in terms of being on a film set, there was an awful lot of familiarity that came along with the opportunity. For starters, it wasn’t the first time she’s worked with the Tres Gatos production duo of Luke Jarvis and Rob Pooley, and of course, she’s spent countless time with her co-stars Will Noonan, Orlando Baxter, and Corey Rodrigues in comedy clubs over the years. It was that level of chemistry and mutual respect for one another’s creative processes that really helped the film feel genuine, in addition to Jarvis and Pooley giving the film’s stars a significant amount of creative freedom when it came to injecting a bit of themselves into the script.
“We all enjoy each other’s presence so much on and offstage, and Luke and Rob gave us a lot of freedom within the parameters of the script to play around and bring pieces of ourselves into the characters we play, which are basically us just cranked to 11,” says Kavanagh. “So there are moments where you can tell we are genuinely having fun, but because of our respect for one another and the overall craft and what we’re doing, we still sort of kept it in bounds. We all understood the assignment, so to speak, while maybe breaking a little bit and enjoying ourselves in the process.”
Over the course of her six years on the comedy grind, Kavanagh has put the work in to carry herself up through the ranks and become one of the quickest “rising” stars in the local scene. And although she has enjoyed every chance she’s had to get up on stage behind the mic to deliver her truth, her experience of working on the film really helped her remember why she pursued a career in performance art in the first place.
“I have to keep that in mind, especially as we’re still sorta kinda in the pandemic, and things can get difficult with delays and obstacles, how much I enjoy it, and how much I’m doing it for me,” says Kavanagh. “Having worked on this film was fulfilling in that way, and confirmation that it doesn’t have to be a giant Paramount, ‘West Side Story in IMAX’ project. Just doing it and being a part of the acting, having involvement in the script, being on screen and embodying the character, and being a part of someone else’s art in that I’m given this script and using my own abilities to execute that vision and help someone else realize their dreams. That’s really meaningful to me, and this experience with the film only solidified that.”
While working alongside friends and people you respect always holds some type of reward, and that proved to be the case with this project, Kavanagh also loves just how much of an homage the film is to the local comedy scene in Boston, while not stopping to the cliches and stereotypes that have historically been attached to other films based in the city.
And naturally, with so many rewarding aspects of working on this project, Kavanagh reflects on the time spent with some of her closest comedy friends during a tense and exhausting time and finds not only joy, but comfort in having had the ability to do that, and bring that mutual love and respect to the forefront.
“My favorite part of this whole thing is a tie between seeing the final product and spending time while making something great with people I enjoy at a time where the world is kind of in shambles,” says Kavanagh. “It was like, at least we have each other at this moment, and that was truly nice.”
Salesmen film premiere :: March 24 at Capitol Theatre, 204 Massachusetts Ave. in Arlington, MA :: 7:30 p.m., $15 :: Advance tickets and event page