Meet Kelsey Bunner of Glassell Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Bunner.

Kelsey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Bit by the theater bug at a young age, I spent my summers growing up doing community theater in an old barn in the country in rural Illinois. The barn had holes in the roof so not only rain, but pigeons would make their grand entrances mid-show. The muddy parking field required pushing cars out at the end of the night. It catered to the blue-haired crowd, but boy, oh boy, did it offer a lot of magic for a small town kid like me. Between this community playhouse and the movies my siblings and I would make together with my parents’ VHS camcorder, I knew by the time I was looking to go to college I wanted to study the performing arts.

After a degree in Theater from Illinois State University, I headed up to Chicago where I spent several years doing theater, improv, and working about as many different day jobs as you can imagine. I eventually found my way on set as a PA, and soon after was working both in front, and behind the camera. I began freelance producing & production managing commercials and reality TV, as well as many micro-docs with the non-profit film company, What Matter Productions, which I still help run. I produced my first indie feature, “Bad Animal” in 2019 and shortly after, decided to move to LA.

I landed in LA in March of 2020. Perfect timing to start over in a new market. With the pandemic raging and film sets quiet, I found my way into the live streaming space where I developed and produced the first Twitch original show, Hivemind. That opportunity opened a rare door for me to get into video game production as well, and I joined Tempo’s first game, “The Bazaar.” Since moving to LA my career has become a hodge podge of producing and acting in commercials, indie films, video games and live streams. Recent projects include “Bulls”, with Michael Shannon, “Burning Chrome” directed by Justin Stillmaker, content for Kai Cenat & Ludwig, and a new game, “Project O.”

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I am not sure of a creative project worth making that ever has a completely smooth road. The obstacles often make the experience rewarding. I think the same can be said about living a creative life. A week before we were supposed to shoot, “Bulls” in Michigan City, IN, The SAG strike cancelled our shoot. It was definitely the first time in my career I felt a project may be dead, but miraculously the team waited, Michigan City stepped up to offer us a lot of free resources to offset the cost lost in the push, and when the strike ended, we were able to go straight back into production. I think this obstacle built a really strong community support network for us in the city which translated to a lot of magic while filming.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always loved that acting and storytelling allow for such an expansive exploration of the human experience. I often joke, somewhat seriously, that I became an actor because it is one of the only places as an adult it is deemed acceptable to play as fully committed and as hard as when you were six. As I get further along in the craft and my own artistic journey, I get more excited about the specificity and imaginative play I am finding in my work. When result oriented mindsets leave, and process focused work begins, the creative work really starts to thrive. I am in development on five feature films at the moment with some really talented collaborators, which have me very excited for 2026.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I think I have been fortunate to work in many different avenues and lanes–partly out of necessity but mostly out of curiosity. I think it has made me very adaptable and also very holistic when it comes to approaching a project. I think one of the main lessons of my journey so far is to follow the curiosity and creative sparks, even when they feel tangential. In my experience, all creative endeavors feed each other. The learnings always pay off and show up down the road in ways you wouldn’t expect.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kelseybunner.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/K_Bunner

Image Credits
Lindsey Kusterman
Justin Stillmaker- “Burning Chrome”
Michael Conciald