Actor from the Macon Theater plays the leading role in a film production of the Macon Film Festival

MACON, Georgia – Kailey Rhodes is a product of Theatre Macon and she’s back in a new way.

“To be able to sit and watch yourself in a movie in the city where this ability was born, with your family and friends, is humbling and really nervous,” she said.

She plays Sarah Clawson in the film “The Way We Speak”. The Macon native can be seen on screen twice at the Macon Film Festival.

In the film, she plays a Christian author who is invited to a debate with a famous atheist. Rhodes said she was excited to have her film screened during the festival.

“It's a full-circle thing for me as a Macon artist,” she said. “I didn't go to school for this, and I didn't go to school in Macon. If I had gone to school for this, I would have learned those talents outside of Macon. But that didn't happen. I learned what I do on screen on this stage.”

She has a dance background and learned acting at the Youth Artists' Company.

Richard Frazier is the executive director and artistic director of Theatre Macon. He said he was looking forward to seeing Rhodes' film.

“To witness the legacy of great friends in real time, to watch them live their legacy and thrive, is something very special,” Frazier said.

Rhodes attributes her current situation to her experiences on the stage in her hometown.

“If you can do theater at one of our two community theaters in town, even just in the summer, you'll meet so many new people,” she said. “And you'll realize how big and diverse Macon really is.”

Rhodes said she has only seen the film once and will watch it again this weekend with her family and friends. Rhodes said they filmed “The Way We Speak” last year in Portland, Oregon.

You can see Rhodes' film tomorrow at 2:15 p.m. at the Douglass Theater or Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. Tickets can be purchased on the Macon Film Festival website.

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