Boston is known for its professional casting companies and their talented and astute casting directors. One of the most recognized in recent years is Kevin Fessessy who has had a hand in casting a dozen major studio films and is frequently quoted or mentioned in all the Boston press. His career as actor and director is notable. He is well known and loved by the theatre arts community and by many actors of every skill level in the Film, TV, and Commercial Production world. Five years ago this month he began Kevin Fennessy Casting with actor, writer, producer Christy Scott, (now Christy Scott-Cashman, see IMAGINE Dec/Jan issue cover), in an old warehouse style building in East Boston. Kevin moved to a new location in Cambridge, while Christy went on to form Fade In, Inc. with Farrelly Brothers' writing partners (ME MYSELF AND IRENE and the upcoming THREE STOOGES) Mike and Steve Cerrone (See story in IMAGINE June/July, 2002).

Presently, Kevin Fennessy Casting, Inc. is at home in a wonderful new home in Harvard Square at 25 Mount Auburn Street, near Arrow Street, in "The Convertible Collar Building," a national historical site. And while the years have sailed by, it hasn't always been smooth sailing for Kevin. The worst of which began one year ago when the offices of Kevin Fennessy Casting on Amory Street in Cambridge, MA burned leaving Kevin in a stressful condition and needing to start all over again. Shortly thereafter, in June, he suffered a heart attack.

Friends, family, peers and associates came together to rally Kevin and his casting company. Through a series of donations, fundraisers, and community support events
Kevin has pulled through all this tragedy. It hasn't been an easy year, but he's made it through a very difficult time. A big bright spot came when Fennessy landed the casting for Julia Roberts' MONA LISA SMILE. A big project that required placing 1600 extras in a '50s period piece on location at a women's college just outside Boston.

Fennessy just finished working with a Japanese TV show, "Astonishing News," a recreation-interview show in the style of "Unsolved Mysteries." The crew, including their non-English speaking director Chin Fukamore, flew into town for an episode about a 1976 arson in the Fenway area of Boston. The challenges of a Japanese script, a director who doesn't speak English, and the rapid style of this kind of non-union shoot didn't daunt Kevin Fennessy who at the time was also preparing for STUCK ON YOU and looking for a pretty jogger, a beautiful fit woman between the ages of 18 and 25. The sexy jogger appeared in a scene with Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear, who play Siamese twins in Kevin's next project!

Currently working on STUCK ON YOU, Kevin has been enjoying a new round of exposure for this Farrelly Brothers movie starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, which began shooting the first week in March in Rockport, MA (doubling for Martha's Vineyard). During the last five years, Kevin has locally cast actors and extras in 3 other movies for writer/directors Bobby and Peter Farrelly. STUCK ON YOU will be the fourth film following ME MYSELF AND IRENE, OSMOSIS JONES, and SHALLOW HAL. Kevin will cast about 50 SAG member day players and extras from the area for the one-week shoot, weather willing.

Some of Kevin's other credits include: THE LOVE LETTER (DreamWorks, 1998); THE PERFECT STORM (Warner Brothers, 1999); the NBC Television Series PROVIDENCE (1999,2000); and the Slamdance 2000 Film Festival's Anarchy Award-winning short film, NIGHT DEPOSIT with Christy Scott-Cashman and. MGM's Sam Weisman directed, WHAT'S THE WORST THAT COULD HAPPEN?

Kevin Fennessy's new offices are a friendly place open to those who stop by. Actors are encouraged to send in their current headshots with a resume (securely attached all four corners). The agency files include men, women, boy, and girls, both union and non-union. Frequently there are open auditions where actors can come and present themselves to be videotaped and filed for future reference. And every season Kevin Fennessy Casting offers a series of acting and other career related classes.

A year after a treacherous fire, even after a hear attack, Kevin Fennessy Casting celebrates its fifth anniversary and "things" are looking up!

Learn more about Kevin Fennessy Casting at www.kfcasting.com