If youB次元官网网址檙e a director scrambling to fill a couple of roles, the local school board would probably be way down your list of casting calls.

If youB次元官网网址檙e filming a movie or television series in the Victoria area, however, it turns out School District 62 would be a pretty good place to start.

Trent Pryor, facilities manager for the Sooke School District, and Joanne Kimm, assistant superintendent and executive assistant to the secretary treasurer, have been finding steady work in the local film industry, although both arrived from completely different directions.

Kimm had taken acting in high school and decided to take some acting classes when she first moved to Victoria in 1990 because her husband was away for long periods of time.

B次元官网网址淢y acting coach told me I needed an agent and then my Avon lady told me her hubby was (an agent),B次元官网网址� said Kimm, whose credits date back to 2003 with parts in the Creepy Canada and Terminal City television series. She eventually settled with Barb Coultish and has appeared in a number of productions and the TV mini-series Gracepoint, filmed in Victoria, and several movies, including Stranger in the House this year.

B次元官网网址淭o be an actor means you can be anything you want B次元官网网址� any time, any place,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 one of the best jobs in the world.B次元官网网址�

Pryor stumbled into acting when Bond of Silence, a movie shot at SookeB次元官网网址檚 Edward Milne secondary in 2010, required someone from the school boardB次元官网网址檚 department to be on site and no one else wanted to work that weekend.

B次元官网网址淚 got to know the actors and crew and stayed in touch and was called back in 2014 to be an extra,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he original guy for the part didnB次元官网网址檛 work out because they were having lighting issues with the reflection off of his bald head, so they grabbed me.B次元官网网址�

That has led to roles in a number of Hallmark movies, playing a detective on Gracepoint and an appearance in a music video by local artist Aidan Knight, said Pryor, who also works with Coultish Management.

B次元官网网址淭hey keep calling and I have to turn away more than I can take because of my commitments at School District 62,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he school board will always be my first priority, because itB次元官网网址檚 more than a job, itB次元官网网址檚 who I am. I love acting, though, because you get to be someone and thatB次元官网网址檚 a huge stress reliever.B次元官网网址�

Kimm, who gets less calls because of the restrictions of being a member of the union, has also written a screenplay for a TV pilot. B次元官网网址淚 love working at the school district, but a career in writing would be a dream come true,B次元官网网址� she said.

Another similarity the two share is the opportunity acting has created to work with family.

Pryor recently worked on a University of Victoria production with his granddaughter and Kimm has worked with her two sons.

Although he was initially reluctant to see his granddaughter involved, Pryor was fully on board once she said how much she enjoyed it. B次元官网网址淚 needed to hear that and will encourage her as long as she wants to continue,B次元官网网址� he said.

Both of KimmB次元官网网址檚 sons have done some work and share the same agent as their mom.

B次元官网网址淚t can be very regimented and repetitive and I wanted to be sure they enjoyed it first,B次元官网网址� she said.

While Pryor and Kimm have had to turn down roles because of scheduling challenges, both were quick to add that B次元官网网址渁ll of our colleagues at the school district have been super supportive.B次元官网网址�

They also say theyB次元官网网址檝e made many new friends with actors and people working on the set every step of the way.

B次元官网网址淵ou find out theyB次元官网网址檙e just like anyone else,B次元官网网址� Kimm said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 no putting on airs or pretenses, because weB次元官网网址檙e all here to do a job.B次元官网网址�

Pryor said once you get a chance to talk to them, B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e just as similar or different as anyone else.B次元官网网址�

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com