We recently connected with Kaylah Nicole and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kaylah thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

One of the biggest risks I’ve taken in my life was when I decided to become an actor. Back in 2019, I was at a university studying Early Childhood Education. My goal at the time was to become a Pre-k to 3rd Grade Teacher. While I have so much respect and admiration for teachers, I remember saying in my very first month of college that I couldn’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life. I auditioned for the musical theatre minor program and I got in! A couple weeks later, we went on spring break. Then, the pandemic happened and changed everything.

During the pandemic, I became the best version of myself. I had so much time to focus on me without all of the outside interruptions. I was eating healthier and cooking every single day, going on walks for hours, writing, reading, teaching myself to draw, obsessing over Season 12 of Rupaul’s Drag Race and etc. I was in a mentally great space and my outlook on the world changed.

When I returned to school that Fall, I began taking musical theatre dance classes and my very first acting class and that’s when I knew. In the spring, I began attending an Audition Tips and Tricks class and I auditioned for a conservatory in April and got in. Very quickly afterwards, I withdrew from the school and shared the news with my family. Let’s just say… for them, it was very left field. A couple months went by and my heart broke when I learned I didn’t have the funding to attend the school. It was a difficult month for me, but I managed to pull myself out of my funk and I got to work. I knew I didn’t want to go back to teaching school. I found my calling and I wasn’t going to give up on it. I decided I would audition for other conservatories and somehow figure it out and if those didn’t work out, I would take acting classes at a studio.

I spent that summer going to Barnes and Noble every day reading acting books. I auditioned for two conservatories and I got in to both. With federal loans and large scholarships from both, I was able to choose what school I wanted to go to. It felt like a miracle for me. Someway, somehow, things worked out. I was in class a couple weeks later and I commuted between New Jersey and New York everyday for that first year. The following year, I moved to New York and now, three and a half years since I made that decision, here I am.

My life isn’t perfect, but I know I made the right decision and I am grateful for everything I have, the friends, the home, the experience, and my work. I’ve spent the past year and a half post graduation building my resume and reel. I went from not having any credits to having a full resume and I’m so proud of how far I’ve come. The next step for me is representation.

Kaylah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Kaylah Nicole and I am an Actress based in New York City. I’ve been acting for about three and a half years now and it’s been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. As an actor, I’ve tested the waters with quite a few different projects, but I find myself attached to the Horror/Thriller genres. I grew up watching horror movies with my family at an age that was probably too young, but I’ve loved it ever since. I love that horror can address politics in a very extreme way. There’s almost always a morale being addressed and it’s so fun to participate these types of films as an actor because it can be of how extreme it can be as well as challenging. My reel has shifted to this type of content mostly and it feels truthful to me. I love the genre so much and I love experimenting with my range as an actor with it.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being an actor to me is having a job where I can play. I can experiment, I can have fun, I can do things I would never typically do, I can travel, and every day looks different, even if it’s just working on a new scene. I also love meeting new people every time I go on a set. Being on set is such a wonderful bonding experience and it brings joy to my heart.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think we need more opportunities all over the world whether that’s having more local theatre shows or seasonal short film screenings and etc. I think we need more local opportunities that are paid for artists. Imagine if we had a theater that only screened local short films/features or weekly short series. People would be more active in their community to support artists, buy tickets, help them fund their next short films and etc. Same thing could go for theater.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itskaylahnicole
• Other: https://www.backstage.com/u/KaylahNicole/

Image Credits

Jessica Osber