Laura Kirk, a native of Lecompton, stops for a photo during a movie shoot in downtown Lawrence. Kirk has found a way to allow her to both pursue her acting career and take care of her two children.

Nina Kirk, 10, left, and Sasha Kirk, 8, hang out on the set of a movie starring their mother, Laura Kirk. Laura Kirk often takes her children to filming sessions.

When Laura Kirk works on a film these days, she brings the kids – and her “momtourage.”

“That’s what my husband calls them,” Kirk says with a laugh. “All the moms who work together so this can happen.”

A native of Lecompton, Kirk co-wrote and starred in the independent film “Lisa Picard is Famous” while working as an actress in New York City. This comedic mockumentary detailing the lives of two struggling actors was directed by Griffin Dunne and included appearances by Sandra Bullock and Mira Sorvino. The film achieved critical success and jettisoned her career into the international spotlight.

A few years later, Kirk faced another turning point. She adopted her two children, Nina, 10, and Sasha, 8, in the spring of 2004 and placed her career on hold to focus on parenthood.

“I planned to take six months off, but what I found was we all needed more time together,” says Kirk, who eventually lost her agent because of the hiatus.

But she has no regrets. “I was incredibly happy with the mom-only lifestyle. Adoption is exactly like having biological children in the sense that you instinctively want to take time off for the special period of bonding and being with them when they are small.”

After a year and a half, Kirk’s ambition resurfaced, and she found an entry point back into the business that meshed well with her new responsibilities as a mother.

“Commercials require one or two days away from home, and I booked one of my biggest spots within months,” she says. “The challenge I faced was trying to return to the film and TV world.”

Kirk recalls this time period as particularly difficult.

“It was very frustrating and depressing to think I might not be able to get back to doing what I love,” she says.

She credits Lawrence filmmaker Kevin Willmott for being instrumental in her return to cinema.

When Willmott, a father of five, approached Kirk about starring in his feature film “Bunker Hill,” he knew what she was going through.

“We talked about how you have to learn to compartmentalize,” Willmott says. “You have to get accustomed to noise and interruption and accept it as part of your natural writing and creative world. It is a part of what I call community filmmaking. It is how I was raised in Junction City. The whole neighborhood watched over you.”

Kirk responded to the welcoming atmosphere on the set of “Bunker Hill” and recalls the neighborhood women in Nortonville as being particularly supportive, offering their houses, toys and babysitting assistance when needed.

“I remember one afternoon I just had my son and while I did one shot in front of a post office they watched him on the playground,” she says.

Since “Bunker Hill,” Kirk has returned to Kansas every summer to work on films such as Willmott’s “The Only Good Indian” and Chris Ordal’s “Earthwork,” based on the life and work of artist Stan Herd. She is now represented by an agency that is completely supportive of her family life.

She feels lucky about the way things have turned out.

“When you add the responsibility of children there is a voice inside you – or a close relative – saying, ‘Why don’t you just get a job?'” she says. “I’m glad I didn’t listen because I’ve got three films in the can now and more in development. I would never have shifted my focus to film in Kansas if the mom shift hadn’t happened.”