We were lucky to catch up with Katy Mikelle recently and have shared our conversation below.
Katy , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
I wrote, composed, and directed a musical called “The circle of Eyes”. It took me about 5 years to complete and although it won 4 awards off broadway in New York, it’s still a work in process for me. It’s the one thing that gets me out of bed in the morning and gives me hope. Its my baby, and the thing I am most passionate about more than anything I’ve ever created. I wanted to take all of the most painful moments of my life and turn them into something beautiful to help others. I believe music is healing in a way that most don’t fully understand. I wanted to tell a story about the importance or art and music created from real emotion, and not just from a machine, not just for popularity or “likes” on social media. Technology is obviously taking over the world and my musical is set in the future. It is a heartbreaking, inspiring fantasy fiction love story about a robot with a soul, about reincarnation, and about the meaning of life. It is a story for all ages, and very Tim Burton/Danny Elfman-inspired. In my own personal experience, When I was very sick in a dark place for years, and didn’t know I would survive, music & songwriting saved me. I wanted to write about that in a way that could be inspiring and relatable to others.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I grew up in the theater. I began acting at age 3. By age 9 I was performing in professional equity theatre, one after another, all over the Bay Area. By 8th grade I had performed in over 35 plays. I studied jazz, tap, ballet, voice, classical and contemporary acting every week. I didn’t have much of a childhood. I don’t talk about my childhood publicly because it was not a safe place for me, and at age 41 I’m still trying to learn how to recover from the trauma of my childhood/adolescence. That said, to the outside world it looked like I had the perfect upbringing and it looked like I was always happy and smiling and beaming on the stage. My home was not a safe place for me, but the theater was. Music was. It was my escape, where I could be anyone I wanted to be and free to express myself through art. I learned at a very young age that no one wanted to listen to me unless I was speaking lines on stage and playing a role. I have known since I was 3 that I wanted to work in the theater in some way for the rest of my life. It what I was born to do. Directing my musical was such a dream come true for me, not only because I was able to see my story come to life, but also because 2 of the leading actors are children, and working with children in such a positive way filled my soul and meant everything to me. I am, and always have been an artist in every sense of the word. I paint, I design, I make costumes, I create, I write, I imagine, I compose, I sing, dance, act, play piano.. As a director I was able to use all of my creative skills at once. Working with a team of artists is the most fulfilling job in the world for me. Artists, actors. Singers, dancers coming together like a family to support one another to create something beautiful and meaningful is why I love working in the theater. There is nothing else like it in the world for me. Live theater is raw, real, unfiltered, pure, honest, and takes courage. I made my money as a dancer and contortionist (this is mainly what I’m known for) but it’s not my passion. My passion is music, songwriting, composing, and directing musical theater. My goal is to write and direct full time. I will always hold a special place in my heart for dance, but I believe my true purpose lies in musical theater, songwriting, and directing.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
They say that if your dreams don’t scare you then you aren’t dreaming big enough. People might laugh at my dreams but i dream them anyway, and they are a real goal for me. I want “The Circle of Eyes” to become the next Phantom of the Opera, the next “Wicked”, the first successful broadway musical about robots. I want it to become an animation film directed by Tim Burton, I want the characters to become a household name and children will want to dress up as the leading robots for Halloween every year. I want this story to live on after I die and continue to bring joy and hope and inspiration into lives for years and years to come. This is my ultimate goal and it’s going to take time, patience, hard work, dedication, and some luck, but I believe in it with all of my heart.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
It’s tough to explain in words but I’ll try. Whenever I’m feeling down, having a bad day, going through a dark time, I can always, no matter what turn to my keyboard 🎹 and just play. I can always pick up a pen and just write. I can paint how I feel, and it instantly lifts me up and makes me feel okay again. It saves me every time. There is no greater feeling in the world for me than writing a song from my heart, or co-writing together with another artist and sharing that piece of magic together. Art and music heals me more than any other form of therapy. And sometimes my art helps to heal others, and that, above all, is the most rewarding part.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Katy_Mikelle