Kayla Myers — professionally known as Kayla Kelly — took home Best Actress in a Short Film for her portrayal of Kitty Gatlin in “The Last Rung on the Ladder,” an adaptation from the 1978 Stephen King short story. The awards ceremony followed a special screening at The Bend Theatre.

Kelly’s lead role in the production is that of an estranged sister separated from her brother, an award-winning author, mental health advocate and psychologist Larry Gatlin.

“It opens with two siblings that are best friends, but as they get older things change,” the Kingsford native said, adding that filming took place in 2023 throughout several locations in Wisconsin.

Kitty’s life begins to spin out of control after a series of abusive relationships, substance abuse and mental illness. She tries to reach out to Larry many times but has no success.

KINGSFORD ACTRESS KAYLA MYERS — professionally known as Kayla Kelly — played Kitty Gatlin in the short film “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” The role earned her Best Actress in a Short Film at the 2024 Milwaukee Independent Film Awards. (Photo provided to The Daily News)

She becomes a cam girl — a woman who poses for a webcam especially as a form of paid adult entertainment — to make ends meet as well as receive some type of validation.

While attending a gala in his honor, Larry is haunted by his guilt and insecurities that transforms into a physical manifestation named “The Carnival Barker of Despair.”

Kelly noted that in King’s original story, Kitty is just a memory of Larry’s that he writes about in his journal.

“This short film is a real-time situation. You get to see the backstory of his success and her downward spiral,” she said. “The way we told it is so cool.”

Kelly said because it was such an inclusive cast and crew, she was able to do more improv than she would normally do on scene.

“You don’t get a lot of opportunities to really develop a character — that is usually already done by the writers for you,” Kelly said. “I feel it was an essential part of how I could have got this award.”

The King adaptation was co-written by Karla S. Bryant and Max Blaska, directed by Jeff Blankenship and produced by Kurt Krauss. Blaska received rights and extension to the story through Stephen King’s “Dollar Baby” initiative.

“This program allows filmmakers to obtain the right to the short stories that haven’t already been turned into a production and buy them for $1,” she explained, adding that all concepts for the film have to be approved by King’s administration.

“It was my birthday in 2022 when I got the call asking if I would be interested in the project by a filmmaker in southern Wisconsin,” Kelly said. “It takes time with these projects, because of all the hoops you have to jump through.”

“The Last Rung on the Ladder” is one of the last “Dollar Baby” films that will be made, due to the program being discontinued in 2024. Though the program has ended, the King organization honored all previous arrangements with the filmmakers. The film screened at the ETHOS Film Awards in Santa Monica, Calif., and was among 23 films selected for the Stephen King Convention “KingCon” in Las Vegas.

Her co-star, Seth K. Hale, received Honorable Mention for Best Actor at the MIFA.

The film also won Best Wisconsin Film at the 2024 Madison Film Festival.

Kelly hopes that “The Last Rung on the Ladder” gains the notice it deserves and gets out to the public audience.

“It’s a great story — it shows you how important it is to uplift those people around you that are struggling,” she said. “It would be awesome if he (Blaska) would be able to obtain the rights to make it into a full-length feature film.”

The Kingsford native, who plays Mayor McSwifty in “The Rise of Deermageddon,” also received recognition for her vocal work in the musical comedy along with co-star CJ Guzan, winning Best Music in a Short Film at the MIFA.

This was her first real experience in a recording studio, Kelly said.

“The project was a proof of concept to create a feature-length film,” she said, adding filming will begin later this year.

Last fall, Kelly took home a Best Actress award for her role as Corrine Arnold in the horror anthology, “F’d: Tales from the End Times,” which received dozens of awards in the festival circuit.

“2024 was a good year and this year is looking even better — bigger things are happening,” she noted.

In addition to securing several roles, she is involved in a larger project that could lead to working out of the country.

“Fingers crossed — it would be cool if it works out,” she adds.

Kelly credits her talent manager, who she obtained this past year, for opening up more opportunities.

“I’m going into my ninth year in the business, he believes in my talents and really knows my goals — I’m pretty excited to have him on my side,” she adds.

Kelly first got the taste for acting after she landed a small part in “Nowhere, MI,” followed by “Northbound,” and has since snowballed. Her credits include 37 feature and short films, as well as television pilots, streaming series and dozens of commercials.

A goal she has set for 2025 is to land a role on a TV show or series.

Being a part of the last two projects has also fueled her to get more involved and be a part of the creative process, which includes developing her romantic comedy screenplay she wrote in the future.

“I would love to make that thing happen, who knows — that would be huge, but TV is first,” she said.

Kelly is thankful for the people she has on her side. “They understand that I have this crazy side career and are cool with it,” she said. “My husband and family have been so supportive of me chasing my dreams.”

Although “The Last Rung on the Ladder” and “The Rise of Deermageddon” are currently unavailable for streaming, viewers can check out Kelly’s other roles on SeekaTV in Northbound or Prime video and Tubi in feature films “An Intrusion,” “He Knows,” “For Hannah,” “Trial by Faith,” “A Christmas Hero,” “A Fireman for Christmas,” “Blood Immortal,” “Agramon’s Gate” and more.

“It’s been a fun journey. If you would have told me this was my future when I was younger, I would have said, ‘You’re crazy,'” Kelly said. “But this just shows you, people can do this profession from anywhere.”