In our second hour, you may know her from her work on the CBS sitcom "Mom" and films like "Midnight in Paris," but you may not know that actress Mimi Kennedy got her start in Rochester. Kennedy is a Rochester native who performed with the Rochester Community Players (RCP) in Agatha Christie’s “Spider’s Web" when she was 12 years old. She'll be back in her hometown this weekend for an event marking 100 years of the RCP, but first, she joins us to discuss her path from home to Hollywood. Our guests: - Mimi Kennedy, actor, author, and activist (video) - Karen Olson, historian for the Rochester Community Players - Michael Krickmire, president of the Rochester Community Players 0:00 Introduction 3:06 Why this weekend matters for local theater 4:42 Book signing and centennial celebration details 5:24 Earliest Rochester memories 6:52 A mother’s surprising view on child actors 8:03 Sharing a role and early stage lessons 10:07 Family ties to theater and Broadway stories 12:09 Diction and the Rochester accent 16:03 How accents shaped acting careers 19:12 Sitcom scene and recovery themes 23:04 From appointment TV to streaming 26:05 Rediscovering real-world community 29:05 Language and voice training in theater 37:05 How community theater evolved 40:05 Origins of Rochester’s theater movement 43:03 Preserving history in a digital age 44:14 Why open auditions still matter 47:00 Centennial celebration preview 49:42 Favorite roles and career reflections 51:01 What’s next for theater and community? __________________________ For more shows and information head to https://www.wxxinews.org/show/connections. Be part of the program with questions or comments by phone at 844-295-TALK (8255), emailing connections@wxxi.org or using the chat on the live stream. Do you have a story that needs to be shared? https://www.wxxinews.org/pitch-your-story-to-connections __________________________ Become a member of WXXI: https://www.wxxi.org/donate Never miss a headline with our daily newsletter: https://www.wxxinews.org/newsletter.