We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kyle Montgomery a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kyle thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

“Regular Job” – let’s normalize artists being a “regular” job. <– This mindset puts the blame back on the irregular entertainment industry rather than saying an artist is “brave” or “abnormal” to want to pursue an “irregular” career in a “regular” industry just like any other type of industry…. Why is the artist being shamed for their job, but the industry is looked at as this extraordinary thing or at least “regular”… why is it always the artist who gets blamed for the irregularities but never the people gatekeeping or making “the rules?” Why are those who work within it considered less than for pursuing a job that naturally pays less than most… where is the compassion or grace to the 98% of the artists who are working daily to pay rent, not 3 months at a time on a high budget feature to pay for their nepo boarding school? (I’M WAITING TO BE that privileged… one day!) Until then, I’m a poor, with a skillset and interest in the entertainment business, rather than in tech or retail. I have done those jobs decently because of the well-rounded training a BFA in Musical Theatre prepares you for most life lessons – HOWEVER, my irregularity (which is a super-power, not something to feel shameful) comes with the amount of devotion I give to my artistry and not into the validation of the DUMB industry – that’s integrity and I’m very proud of, and happy with, how I’ve recently been able to navigate that as an artist and creative – and that should be celebrated, not looked at as “irregular” or dumb… the industry is dumb… I’m looking to burn/build it less dumb… but still kinda dumb cuz dumb is fun :P

Kyle, 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?

Kyle Montgomery: 2-Enneagram/Cancer Sign/Queer AF/ENFJ/Rosie O’Donnell Dupe

Musical Theatre BFA (@theatretcu), Musical Theatre MFA (@Sdsu_ttf), Adjunct Professor (@fulcolltheatrearts), Member (@actorsequity), Member (@mustheatreguild), Romantic Partner of 13 Years (@rashaunsibley)

As a college professor of the most tired and campy American art form of all time: Musical Theatre… I mostly see students who have been told what to do for 18 years of their lives. In their homes, they are given life lessons; in schools, they are given textbooks; in religion, they are given literature; in sports, they are given playbooks. However, when they arrive at college, and they meet me… they’re shook. BECAUSE WHEN I, a collaborating instructor, not their normal “authoritarian” instructor say, “YOU CAN SING WHATEVER YOU WANT – THERE ARE NO RULES” … they immediately panic. “Well what do the casting teams want to see so I’m hired?” “Aren’t there certain ‘do’s’ and ‘don’ts or rules?'” “Is this the right audition material for this show?”

So I obviously provide vocal/audition coaching as my business – and some really cheap options as low as $10 – am i kind or do i hate myself, who’s to say, but use me bb!!! :)

HOWEVER – My “MUSICAL THEATRE REPERTOIRE.” side hustle has been really kicking off for the exact reason I mentioned above – people are so nervous to make the “wrong” choice and they are desperate for validation – but they are seeking it in the wrong places (casting/directors/producers) and their goals becomes projections of “traditional” success rather than intentional and personal, artistic goals.

LET’S TOUCH SOME GRASS – but let my business provide that grass for you ;)

In a nutshell: For $10, my business asks you to answer 10 quick questions about where you are in your life right now, and what roles or themes or experiences you really want to start exploring at this time. You’ll also list some of your favorite artists (Beyoncé, James Taylor, DOECHII, Samara Joy, RAYE, Ariana Grande, Flo Milli, VINCINT, Sabrina Carpenter, Reneé Rapp, etc.) so I can get a vibe of your music interests/tastes. Once that’s submitted, give me a week to pull you 9-20 songs that you can start exploring and that I think may help meet your listed artistic goals, but curated to the music vibes you like because… you should enjoy the art you’re creating. I’m also extra and will provide you a small note section with some thoughts about my pulls for you. And I won’t be offended if you don’t use any of them! My motto is always: Keep the notes that serve you, and throw away the notes that don’t!

THAT’S IT! It’s just to get you started – maybe it’ll inspire you to think outside the box and provide a moment of relief or maybe a reminder that Musical Theatre should be fun and dumb. Find the fun. Find the dumb. Find the energy that excites you and follow that, and throw away or RUN away from the energy that doesn’t fulfill you – there are no rules BUT you deserve to shine :)

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

IDK about resilience, but I DO trust myself a lot more. Trust myself to understand that my shit’s good. MY shit’s good – even though the industry may be confused about me because I’m not “traditional.” Trusting that I’m not lazy or don’t have a good work ethic – it’s there. My work ethic is great. The problem is that I don’t trust words – because those can be taken away and continues to be taken away and continues to prove itself untrustworthy.

So I need to trust more that when people uplift me cuz they are being honest. Although they may not use me in the project, they may always call me back – it’s not because they don’t like me or because I’m not talented. Most of the times – it’s never about my talent. Everyone is talented, but others have more connections or more time in front of the team than me, or something else circumstantial that I can’t control (a friend lost a big job because they wore yellow and the team hated that color…. wut?)… so I can’t blame myself. I can be mad about it or frustrated FOR SURE – but I can also know that the job was never FOR me. 2 truths in the same plane, u no?

And following the energy that is feeding me, and trusting that good things will happen when I follow the energy that feeds me, and not JUST drains me. I think anything that drains you can be good, because that means it’s challenging. BUT if it’s not feeding you more than it’s draining you, follow a different passion… you can always come back to it (I took a 5 year break from performing). But it wasn’t feeding me – it was just draining me, so I went and followed another passion that was feeding me (literally and energetically). However, i found the joy in performing again… so we’re following that now too and trusting what’s for me will come… :)

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Definitely struggle with this idea, because I’m shameful of the Musical Theatre industry. It’s a commercial business at it’s core, not artistic (showing its ass OFTEN). It loses sight of the artistic integrity and lacks the integral American ideas of equality and freedom at it’s core due to inherent biases and erasure of the full historic conception of the form. Instead… it relies on nostalgia to hold on to any sibilance of relevancy… which looks desperate, tacky, and TIRED. That’s why the most relevant music is STILL 10 years ago (Moulin Rouge and & Juliet).

SO social media, being perceived, also feeling desperate within the industry of also feel relevant, feels so curated and inauthentic… but much like the industry – it’s required. I hate it. I didn’t post for like 6 years after leaving a job where I was required to post multiple times a day for them. BLISS. Now that I’m performing again, I needed to post again… because that’s just how the dumb industry works. NOT BLISS.

This MT Rep business provided me the excuse to post without it feeling inauthentic by 1) staying relevant visibly 2) making my agent happy even though I’m not the forefront of the content (my stupid face is at the bottom – loophole for those of us who have crazy body dysmorphia bs!) 3) providing a service to others at an accessible rate because 4) music and theatre is what I love to do. AND I CAN’T BE SHAMEFUL OF THAT. MT IS DUMB BUT IT”S FUN and SO WHAT?! I have a lot of dumb information and perspective that makes things fun and that’s the joy I miss from MT. I sometimes have to remind myself – I’m asked to fart on stage as an ogre in Shrek – this isn’t so serious or shouldn’t be so precious. And my perspective/content on social media encourages that dumbness and hopefully a community that is also accessible and kind. :)

So coming back to shame – yeah I have a lot of shame that my industry makes things precious. And I hope that the audience that I’m curating feels like a bunch of dumb artists who isn’t precious with the industry – who fights back. Who says, “We want to be dumb and reclaim these spaces as a place of growth and learning and exploring dumb ideas.” And not letting them run the idea that Glinda has to be a certain look, or that a bald, bearded femme can find love because it’s rare to find it in the pre-existing materials producers ONLY want to produce because its safe for THEIR wallets, but not for OUR hearts – that creativity, investment, and authenticity is the real reason to invest or pursue this career. It’s the collaborative spirit of being silly and inventive within the container provided to us, which is pretty limited. It’s us who can see out and shine our light through the container that will find each other in the darkness :)

Contact Info:

• Website: https://kylemontgomery.squarespace.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frostactor/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kylemontgomery1672
• Other: https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/Kyle_Montgomery