Meet Colleen Hartnett of C Squared Productions in Glendale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Colleen Hartnett.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Colleen. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started in theatre as early as 1st grade and continued through college, graduating from The Actor’s Training Program (a 2-year conservatory) in Suisun, CA. When I moved to LA to pursue my Bachelor’s degree, an acting mentor of mine, Heather Ramey, introduced me to Playhouse West, an acting studio that teaches The Meisner Technique. Essentially, everything I’d ever learned about acting immediately clicked on this approach. When I relocated to AZ years later to settle down with my husband, I was very fortunate to find Kevin R. Phipps and his Meisner studio locally. Not only did I reconnect with my love of Meisner, but Kevin introduced me to the film world, which again, clicked. I fell in love with the subtlety and truth that film requires, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I started out acting in short films with friends and indie filmmakers. I participated in a lot of 48-hour film challenges with A3F and IFP, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to practice my craft, make connections and to learn how to make films. Kevin gave me my first lead role in a feature film, entitled GRIEF, which was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life.

After a while, I felt brave enough to try producing my own films, mostly because I wanted to play certain roles that weren’t available. I produced (and even Directed, which I discovered is not my thing, haha!) a few short films first, and next I co-produced my first feature film with a very talented local director, Kyle Gerkin. Our feature, SEVEN HOURS IN HEAVEN, was an official selection of The Phoenix Film Festival in 2016 and is now available to rent on Amazon and iTunes. After co-producing a feature for the first time and playing a very dark character simultaneously in the film, I was tired… I continued to do a few short films and in fact, one of them, NATURAL PROMOTION, Directed by the insanely bold and quirky Sean Oliver, won a Danny Elfman competition and premiered at The LA Film Festival in the summer of 2017. Meanwhile, my husband and I were also battling what became a 3-year struggle with infertility. I was consumed with grief and not feeling motivated to produce my own work until a precious miracle happened that lead me to produce a deeply personal short film about our journey. We just wrapped that film, INFERTILE HEARTS, last November, and we are now getting ready to submit it to the festival circuit and see where it goes. The next project I am producing is a beautiful baby girl due in April! 🙂

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Life is not smooth. And that’s why it’s beautiful. I’ve failed many a time and because of that, I’ve had more successes than I ever dreamed possible too. I’ve learned, especially in the last 3 years, that the lows are what make the highs even higher. I have a favorite lyric from a Lumineers song, “It’s better to feel pain, than nothing at all, the opposite of love is indifference.” So much art stems from a painful place. It doesn’t mean that art is always sad, it just means it’s truthful. I strive to be the most honest person I can be with others and for sure with myself. That’s why my latest short film is so important to me. I spent years feeling like “I’m wasting time, I’m not creating, I’m not pursuing my dream, I’m never going to get these years back”. But, I always knew that what my husband and I were going through trying to conceive a child was going to be a story that I’d need to tell one day. I conceptualized INFERTILE HEARTS a year before filming it and didn’t want to start until I was emotionally ready to tell our story in all its colors. The way this project fell into the hands of such perfect collaborators was transcendental. From our musician, Kyle Hartnett, whose song breathes life into the story, to our choreographer Tawnya Kannarr, who I met and bonded with only 2 months before filming, to our director Kevin R. Phipps who I knew I could trust implicitly. Every single individual crew/cast member was integral in telling this story truthfully. I believe 100% that the timing of how it all worked out is what it needed to be.

Please tell us about C Squared Productions.
I call myself an actor who sometimes produces my own films out of necessity. 🙂 My husband, Chris, edits all the films we do together. He and I now have our own production company, C Squared Productions.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. Everything I’ve done has to lead me to the wonderful life that I have. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t learn from mistakes and do things differently in the future. That’s called growth. And, I love growing.

Contact Info:

• Email: HartnettPhippsCasting@gmail.com
• Instagram: @leeniehartnett
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/ColleenHartnettActor/

Image Credit:
SDia Photography, Jay Todd Photography

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.