Where are they now?: UA grads took Hollywood by storm

Actor Brandon Keener, seen here in a still from the show PEN15, says that, at the UA, he "learned to let go of being self-conscious in front of an audience. I worked with various directors in varying styles of performing. I learned to get along with different personalities while under pressure; that's one of the most important tools for a working actor." (Courtesy Photo)
Actor Brandon Keener, seen here in a still from the show PEN15, says that, at the UA, he "learned to let go of being self-conscious in front of an audience. I worked with various directors in varying styles of performing. I learned to get along with different personalities while under pressure; that's one of the most important tools for a working actor." (Courtesy Photo)

Northwest Arkansas boasts the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas system and, as such, will see nearly 28,000 students work, study and live within its confines every year. With numbers like that, it's a good bet that many of those students will leave lasting impressions on the area, even after they've moved on to make their mark on other parts of the world. Today, we're expanding on a series we've done occasionally called "Where Are They Now" -- a chance to check in with some of the former University of Arkansas students who have gone on to share their talents with the world. And we're starting with Sarah Colonna, Elizabeth Barnes and Brandon Keener, three theater students who attended the University of Arkansas in the mid-1990s and remained friends as they established careers in Los Angeles.

Sarah Colonna is a stand-up comic who appeared as a roundtable regular on the Chelsea Handler talk show, Chelsea Lately, as well as numerous (and hilarious) other television and movie roles like her recurring role as Lori on the Showtime series Shameless. Currently, she's a regular on the Netflix show Insatiable and has written two best selling memoirs: Life As I Blow It (2012) and Has Anyone Seen My Pants? (2015).

See Their Work

Sarah Colonna can be seen in episodes of the television shows Chelsea Lately, Shameless and Insatiable, as well as movies like Parker’s Anchor and Killing Hasselhoff. She’s the author of the two best-selling memoirs.

Elizabeth Barnes is a four-time Emmy Award nominee for her work casting television and movies that include Glow, What/If and Lucifer.

Brandon Keener has guest-starred on many TV shows including Suits, Hawaii Five-0 and Criminal Minds. He has co-starred in feature films including The Purge: Anarchy, He’s Just Not that Into You and Zookeeper. He wrote and produced the popular live comedy show Cutting Room Floor at IO West in Los Angeles.

Tell us a little bit about your experience at the UA -- what did you study, what were some highlights, etc.?

I studied theater and got my Bachelor of Arts from the UA. It was a great experience. The opportunities I had to do shows there and the teachers/classes/students I learned from helped grow my talents and capabilities.

Tell us a little bit about where you ended up: what was the path there? Why did you choose that path?

I moved to Los Angeles immediately after graduation. I wanted to focus on film and television, so at that time LA was the best place to do that. It's so different now; there are many cities you can choose from that have a thriving entertainment industry.

Can you share a little bit about when you first started out on you path to your career -- what were some of the biggest struggles you had? Were you ever tempted to give up? What kept you motivated to keep pursuing your goals?

It was definitely a long and hard road to get to where I am now, but I'm so grateful for it all -- minus maybe all the stress and worry over being broke all the time! There were moments I thought about giving up, but then I would be reminded (usually by my mom) what I had put in to be there, and then giving up would never feel like a real option. I also don't know how to do anything else, so there's that.

Was there anything in particular you learned at the UA that you could attribute your success to in any way?

Obviously the program is big there, but I do feel that the fact it isn't an ENORMOUS program helped a lot, as we all got opportunities to perform. To me, there is something to be said for going to a school that isn't so completely overpopulated that you never get a chance to do a show or have great one-on-one with your professors. And all of the teaching there was so caring and focused, I'm forever grateful to all the faculty there. It was also just such a great, supportive community of friends that I made there.

I also loved that we had opportunities as students to direct, to work behind the scenes, etc. It's important to know a bit about all of the sides of a business like this.

What do you love about your current career? What have been the highlights thus far?

I get to travel a ton, and when I do stand-up shows, I get the opportunity to connect face to face with people who are there to see me because they've followed my career or seen me on one of the TV shows I've worked on. It's really something to get to thank people for supporting you. And on the live comedy end, there's nothing better to me than being able to make people laugh.

What advice would you give to someone who might be pursuing a career in the area that you find yourself?

Create your own ideas, get to know people in your community that are working on the same goals. Keep yourself busy and out there in different ways.

Actor Brandon Keener and casting director Elizabeth Barnes met in Arkansas and moved to Los Angeles, where they started a family. Keener has guest-starred on many TV shows including Suits, Hawaii Five-0, Criminal Minds, Castle, Justified, NCIS: LA, and CSI and co-starred in feature films including The Purge: Anarchy, He's Just Not that Into You, Zookeeper opposite Kevin James, The Guilt Trip opposite Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand. He wrote and produced the popular live comedy show Cutting Room Floor at IO West in Los Angeles. Elizabeth Barnes Keener has been nominated for four Prime-Time Emmy awards by the Television Academy, most recently in 2018 for her work casting the Netflix series Glow. Her recent casting credits include the Netflix series What/If starring Renee Zellweger, Lethal Weapon on Fox, Siren on Freeform, and American Princess on Lifetime. Past credits include Lucifer on Fox/Netflix, Revenge on ABC, The Comeback on HBO, Madness Farewell on Amazon and many independent feature films including several filmed in Arkansas.

Tell us a little bit about your experience at the UA -- what did you study, what were some highlights, etc.?

Barnes: I transferred to UA as a junior drama major. I'd seen an excellent summer show at the university -- Tribute, featuring Sarah Colonna in a memorable role! -- and was inspired by the range of classes available. I had a work-study job in the costume shop and enjoyed designing as well as being on stage. Brandon and I played opposite each other in a couple of shows including Cabaret, which was a fantastic experience. Sarah and I were in several shows together: we played sisters in an Arthur Miller play and played best friends in a David Mamet play. I loved my time at UA: between classes, acting roles and backstage work, I felt like I got the full experience of making theater and made wonderful friends.

Keener: My first play at UA was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. I was still a political science major but I had such a great time doing the play and meeting everyone in the department, I switched my major to drama. I always loved doing comedies because it felt so great to hear the audience's response.

Tell us a little bit about where you ended up: What was the path there? Why did you choose that path?

Barnes and Keener: After graduating, we saved money for the move to LA at our restaurant jobs (Liz worked at the original Bordinos, Brandon worked at Kirby's -- home of the best broccoli cheese soup -- and Widespread Bagel (sadly no more)), plus cleaning the old Razorback 6 movie theater on the weekends. We chose LA because we had a friend there (Sarah Colonna) who offered a couch to sleep on while we looked for an apartment. She introduced us to friends, and we went to lots of her stand-up shows.

Can you share a little bit about when you first started out on your path to your career -- what were some of the biggest struggles you had? Were you ever tempted to give up? What kept you motivated to keep pursuing your goals?

Barnes: When we first moved to California I thought I'd pursue acting, but I quickly realized I don't have the temperament for it. I did not enjoy auditioning at all. I decided to find work behind the scenes! For many years I was a casting assistant, learning the trade and working 60- to 70-hour weeks for low pay, but it paid off in the long run as I worked my way up in the field. Now it's great to have my own small business and clients; I can choose which projects to take on, and I have my own office near our house and close to the kids' school. Of course, my projects are all on hiatus right now, but hopefully we'll be back to work again soon.

Keener: I was fortunate to book a couple of jobs pretty soon after moving to California, so I got the idea that this was a viable way for me to make a living. I bet nobody loves auditioning and not getting parts, which is a big part of my job, and there were times when it felt like I'd be doing that forever. ... but a job always came through eventually.

Was there anything in particular you learned at the UA that you could attribute your success to in any way?

Barnes: I learned to collaborate in storytelling. Theater takes a lot of creative people working together, lining up their visions to create an experience for the audience. From costume designing, I learned to ask lots of questions and really listen. From my directing classes, I learned to break a script down into beats and work out what mood or tone is needed. I use those lessons every day in my work, along with the acting vocabulary I learned.

Keener: I learned to let go of being self-conscious in front of an audience. I worked with various directors in varying styles of performing. I learned to get along with different personalities while under pressure; that's one of the most important tools for a working actor.

What do you love about your current career? What have been the highlights thus far?

Barnes: I love working with writers and directors whose work I admire. I truly enjoy spending time with actors and helping them do their best work. I like starting new projects, solving logistical problems while staying creative, and helping to fulfill the vision of the storytellers. I work with a team of other casting professionals whom I truly enjoy; we have our own little casting family and do our best work together.

Keener: I love that I get to spend so much time with my family. I never know what the next job will be, or where, which keeps it exciting. I get to work with interesting, creative people and get to travel, but a lot of days I'm available to pick up the kids from school. I just played a middle-school teacher on a few episodes of a show called Pen15 for Hulu -- I think the creators of the show are brilliant -- and the second season will be out on Hulu later this year.

Barnes and Keener: We've truly loved working with Arkansas filmmakers recently. Liz cast the feature film Parker's Anchor, and Brandon acted in it, alongside producer/actors Jennica and Ryan Schwartzman. We're proud of the short film Miss Laura's, filmed on location in Fort Smith, which won a regional Emmy. The director Devon Parks and star Lauren Sweetzer went on to make the feature The Riot Act in Arkansas; Liz cast it and Brandon is in the movie, which is out on Vudu and Amazon.

Keener: You can see Brandon in the movie Hustlers, which is out on-demand now, and he'll be in a couple of other movies out this year: Run Sweetheart Run and an Amazon project called Nocturne.

What advice would you give to someone who might be pursuing a career in the area that you find yourself?

Barnes: The best way to move ahead behind the scenes is to make yourself useful. Find someone who's doing what you want to do, make their life easier, and learn as much as you can along the way.

Keener: The path isn't as traditional as it used to be. There are lots more opportunities these days all over the country; it's great to participate in your local filmmaking community and create your own projects. You never know where it might lead.

photo

Sarah Colonna was the first of the trio of friends to move from Arkansas to Los Angeles, and, when Keener and Barnes followed, she offered up her apartment as a place to stay until they found their own. (Courtesy Photo)

photo

Sarah Colonna, seen here with UA Department of Theatre Chairman Michael Riha, says that the size of theater department of UA was a real draw for her. "To me, there is something to be said for going to a school that isn't so completely overpopulated that you never get a chance to do a show or have great one-on-one with your professors. And all of the teaching there was so caring and focused, I'm forever grateful to all the faculty there. It was also just such a great, supportive community of friends that I made there." (Courtesy Photo/Lara Jo Hightower)

photo

"I learned to collaborate in storytelling," says Elizabeth Barnes of her time in the UA Department of Theatre. "Theater takes a lot of creative people working together, lining up their visions to create an experience for the audience. From costume designing, I learned to ask lots of questions and really listen. From my directing classes, I learned to break a script down into beats and work out what mood or tone is needed. I use those lessons every day in my work, along with the acting vocabulary I learned." (Courtesy Photo)

NAN Our Town on 04/09/2020

Upcoming Events