Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Engeman.

Hi Kayla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

At the risk of being pretentious I’m going to start at the very beginning. From the earliest I can remember I would wake up every day to a freshly laundered Dorothy costume hanging on my bedroom doorknob and I would put it on and turn on The Wizard of Oz on the TV. I would then mirror all of Judy Garland’s blocking, performing the entire film in front of the screen. At some point my mom told me I could go to a summer camp where I could audition to play Dorothy on a real stage. I had already been in dance classes for a few years so the idea of being allowed to TALK on stage was mind blowing, especially as my favorite character. They casted 5 different girls to play Dorothy and I took on the role from the scene where Dorothy shames the Lion for trying to bite Toto by hitting him (fitting for my personality as it is today) through the line “Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown? Jolly ole town!”

Several theater camp performances, acting classes, and college theater auditions later I enrolled at Hofstra University. I was denied from all 9 of the programs I auditioned for – and I plan to remind them in a future Emmy speech. I went to Hofstra and studied Film & Television which has proven extremely useful as an actor in the self tape/create your own work digital age. I did a lot of sketch comedy with who would become lifelong friends and transitioned to improv after college.

I studied at Upright Citizens Brigade for years and did plenty of indie improv, including a few competitions. I continued to write and shoot sketches and take acting classes.

After learning everything I could about the acting industry, honing my craft, and being my own manager I finally landed representation in 2020. I’ve had so many exciting auditions since then despite all of the stop and go of the industry amid the pandemic, strikes, and wildfires.

I can never not be creating something and in this time is when I wrote my solo show, I Need a Hero.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

Oh, of course not. I’m extremely privileged to have gone to college and be supported by two parents who believe in me, and it is still — a struggle is an intense word — a challenge. Externally, show business is a heavily gatekept industry (for good reason). Figuring out what headshots are professional, where and how to submit to agencies, how to be ready to work with a team has taken more than ten years. On top of that is learning to discern what classes and film projects targeted to newer actors are predatory and which are credible. This industry also takes skill in finance management with all of the possibilities you can improve your craft or marketing tools with — especially when marketing yells at you “invest in yourself!” My advice for that is to make good friends you can trust who you can compare notes with, and pursue all free knowledge gaining opportunities possible (industry panels on YouTube, articles, using IMDB to learn about creative teams on projects).

Internally, the challenge is to forget the competition, forget the statistics, and believe in your capability. Capability is key for me because it applies to talent, business sense, endurance, and persistence over TIME. It’s a choice to keep playing this game and I’m going to choose yes every day.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

On paper I’m an actor, comedian, and writer. I’ve performed and written sketches, done improv, and acted in many plays and short films for the last several years. One of my life goals was to write and perform a solo show and I did so from 2022 to 2024. I had the privilege of performing it for five sold out shows (mostly filled with my friends and family which was a highlight of my career). I then took the show Off Broadway, to Milwaukee, Denver, Hollywood, and headlined the Detroit Women of Comedy Festival with [I Need a Hero]. I’m so grateful for all I have been able to bring out of my brain and onto the stage or screen. I hope what inspires others from my work is an attitude of doing the art you want without anyone’s permission.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?

I have a teeny notebook with me wherever I go. Most writers do. My creative thoughts zoom by at 100 miles an hour with my attention span waving at me in the passenger seat … so I have to nail down any idea at any stage the second it happens.

As for podcasts, Audrey Helps Actors, Casting Confidential, and Tipsy Casting are fun and informative shows for practical acting career advice and industry news discourse. IMDBpro, Deadline, Variety, and Hollywood Reporter are great resources as well.

The most important thing you can do as an artist is to experience your life fully and pursue it in all directions. Live your life, observe the world, make your opinion, and say it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kaylaengeman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaylaengeman
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/kaylaengeman