Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kila Packett. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Kila, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Working with inner-city youth has been my ambition for over a decade. I have had the privilege of teaching and mentoring for many NYC and LA-based organizations that have led me all over the urban landscape and to the African continent. Since 2012, I have been a teaching artist and associate director of Los Angeles Drama Club’s Shakespeare Youth Festival. In 2019, our team was invited to be artists-in-residence at the Auma Obama Sauti Kuu Foundation in Nyang’oma Kogelo, Kenya. The Sauti Kuu Foundation provides opportunities to improve the lives of disadvantaged youth and their families. We engaged over 100 students with workshops in Shakespeare and storytelling that culminated in a live performance for the local community. It was important to draw from their personal experiences while collaborating with Shakespeare’s text in order to amplify their rich heritage. I took Jaques’s famous speech, “All the world’s a stage…” from As You Like It and worked with Nairobi-based teacher and poet, Leah Asego, to translate the text into Luo, the local dialect. After a week of rehearsals, the Sauti Kuu players created an ensemble of memorable characters and performed the speech in Luo and English. As far as we know, it is the first translation of its kind, and it illuminates the universal power of art.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Since an early age, I had the desire to create and perform. At university, I studied political science, English composition, theater, music, and art history which allowed me to study abroad in England, Brazil, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It was during my graduate studies at Columbia University’s School of the Arts where I earned my MFA in drama that I started building a resume as a teaching artist. I contributed my skills to the BELL Foundation, Columbia Business School’s Senior Executive Program, Columbia High School Institute, and Classic Stage Company. With the Plastic Theater collective, I co-wrote the Off-Broadway play, Unnatural Acts, which premiered at Classic Stage Company and received nominations for the Drama Desk Awards, Lucille Lortel Awards, and GLAAD Media Awards.

After 12 years in NYC working as a Broadway press assistant, actor, and teaching artist, I made the leap to Los Angeles to widen my reach. In addition to performing in theater, television, and film, I have sharpened my skills as an educator in the greater LA community. I have also gained experience as a producer of short films, music videos, and musical theater concerts.

With The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum, I have taught lessons in acting, stage combat, and improvisation. For STAR Education, I lead lessons for gifted elementary students in science, engineering, visual arts, and Shakespeare. For Society Performers Academy, I coach young abled and disabled actors on commercials, monologues, and scenes. With Young Storytellers script-to-stage program, I teach 4th and 5th graders how to write a 5-page screenplay that will be performed live by professional actors in front of an audience.

As associate director of LA Drama Club’s Shakespeare Youth Festival, I have led performance workshops with youth transitioning from homelessness. Every spring, I co-direct a full-length Shakespeare play. I teach stage combat, fencing, and serve as fight choreographer for each production. I also co-lead the Shakespeare Youth Summer Camp, ages 7-12. I strive to enrich the work ethic of young scholars from different socio-economic backgrounds and identities. Through our educational outreach in schools, libraries, theaters, community centers, parks, and other countries, LADC/SYF has reached over 800 students.

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

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist or creative is feeling the impact of my students as they navigate their way through the creative process. This can be seen as a result of their creative contribution whether it is a part in a play production, a written screenplay, or an understanding of a certain lesson that allows them the confidence to make something meaningful. By seeing their contribution, they know first hand of their product and the joy it can produce.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I enjoy reading biographies, histories, and essays on the legacy of theatrical techniques. Some of my favorite books include: Signs of Performance: an introduction to twentieth-century theater by Collin Counsel, On Directing by Harold Clurman, Theater of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal, Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag, Shakespeare: the invention of a human by Harold Bloom, The Viewpoints Book, but Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, Stephen Sondheim: a life by Meryle Secrest, The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Zen in the Art of Archery by Eurgen Herrigel, and Ghost Light by Frank Rich.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kilapackett
• Facebook: @kilapackett
• Twitter: @kilapackett
• Youtube: @Paniolo06