MACON, Ga. — Kailey Rhodes is a product of Theatre Macon, and she's back in a new way.
"Being able to sit and watch yourself in a movie with your family and friends in the town that grew this skill is really humbling and I'm really nervous," she said.
She plays Sarah Clawson in the movie "The Way We Speak." You can see the Macon native on the screen twice during the Macon Film Festival.
In the movie, her character is a Christian author who is invited to debate a famous atheist. Rhodes said she is excited for her movie to play during the festival.
"It’s such a full-circle moment 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, so if I had gone to school for this, I would've learned these talents outside of Macon. But that's not what happened. I learned what I do on that screen on this stage."
Her background is in dancing and the Youth Artists' Company is how she learned how to act.
Richard Frazier is the executive and artistic director at Theatre Macon. He said he is looking forward to seeing Rhodes’ movie.
"Getting to watch great friends' legacies happen in real time and getting to watch them live their legacies and see their legacies play out is such a special thing," Frazier said.
Rhodes credits the experiences on her hometown stage for where she is today.
"Being able to come do theatre, even just in the summers, at one of our two community theatres in town, you're going to meet so many more people,” she said. “And you're going to realize how big and diverse Macon really is."
Rhodes said she’s seen the movie just once, so she’ll watch it again with her family and friends this weekend. Rhodes said they filmed "The Way We Speak" last year in Portland, Oregon.
You can see Rhodes' film at The Douglass Theatre tomorrow at 2:15 p.m., or at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday at 4 p.m. You can buy tickets at the Macon Film Festival website.