April Unscripted: Built to create

April Unscripted – Issue #6 (May 2026)

Hello wonders,

May was Mental Health Awareness Month! It filled me with delight and comfort seeing all the ways we now raise awareness for bipolar. And this is no offense to how it’s been in the past; it’s in fact a reflection of how far we’ve come in terms of stigma and shame. We’ve got a long way to go, but seeing those express their feelings through various means of creativity should be celebrated… so let’s celebrate. Let’s celebrate the creativity that is installed in those living with bipolar.

Let’s talk creativity

It’s no secret that I believe we as a community living with this disease behold features others don’t, and when harnessed we’re kinda unstoppable.

Of course, when it comes to us, everything has a tipping point, but we have the ability to reach that tippy-top – similar to how there’s only a select few who can make it to the top of Mount Everest. You know the feeling! The hyper fixation on an idea, the unwavering determination that it will come to fruition, and the tunnel vision to see it through.

I wholeheartedly believe bipolar has been a catalyst for many of my successes - my creativity, my drive. Not in a romanticised way, but as part of how my mind works. It isn’t separate from me. It’s woven into how I think, how I create, and how I move through the world.

Throwing myself into work has been the only thing that has ever kept me consistently stable. I’ve been producing for years. 

The moment that changed everything

I started my company, Mini Productions, at 21 while still in drama school. We had to do a presentation on what we were going to do when we weren’t acting that wasn’t… soul destroying. I presented having my own production company. At the end of the class my tutor pulls me to one side and suggested I present a different idea next week. I registered the company two weeks later and often quietly thank that tutor’s ignorance. 

I co-own Mini Productions with Sara Huxley - the most stable person I’ve ever met. We make an unlikely, yet impeccable duo. What’s truly special about her is that she can see both sides to my bipolar. If I’m experiencing a low she’s only worried about me, not the work that needs doing – which is incredibly thoughtful but it also comes from a place of knowing that once the episode passes I’ll be ploughing through what most achieve in a week in two days.

Plot twist

I couldn’t imagine not working in a creative industry, what I didn’t expect is how much solace I’d find in writing. Part of my surprise came because I’m famously dyslexic, so I’d never predict I’d be writing a monthly column, let alone scripts. 

Side note: I’m not a reader, I don’t and can’t read books. I mean, I can read, of course – but the voices never shut up long enough for me to get stuck in with a book.

A few years ago I wrote and produced what I like to call the trilogy of April Kelley that no one asked for but got: Treacle, Just in Case, and Do This for Me - short films exploring sexuality, mental health, and female friendship. And, unsurprisingly, all based on true stories.

A busy mind never rests

There’s so much going on in our minds all of the time, there’s no respite and if there is it usually resembles a black void which in itself is potential for creativity. And let me stress, creativity could look like a whole multitude of things, sure there’s artists, acting, writing, music, etc but there’s also maths whiz’s, business owners, entrepreneurs. We’re capable of world domination, I swear!

If you’ve made it this far, let me remind you that some of the world’s greats live(ed) with bipolar; Robin Williams, Virginia Woolf, Carrie Fisher, Mariah Carey, Stephen Fry, Selena Gomez…

I’d like to make it clear that your creativity doesn’t have to directly correlate with your career for it to be important or beneficial. If by reading this you’ve been reminded of something you’re damn good at but pushed it to the side for whatever reason I hope you go and pick it back up, and if you already know what your creative outlet is I’m hoping this validates that it’s very important and necessary.

I’ll leave you with one of my all time favourite quotes – one from Viginia Woolf:

"How many times have people used a pen or paintbrush because they couldn't pull the trigger?"

Lots of love,

April x