When Kyla Brown first stepped onto the stage at North Carolina Central University (NCCU), she wasn’t confident, polished or sure of her place in the world of performance. In fact, she had planned a completely different path.
“I actually started to do law first,” Brown said, as she’d already been accepted to Elon University.
But after a chance audition, she was granted admissions to The American Musical and Dramatic Academy, a dream opportunity that came with a price tag she couldn’t afford.
“So, I was like, let’s find something here, something I can grow on. And I chose Central.”
What she didn’t know then was that NCCU’s Department of Theatre and Dance would become her turning point, shaping not only her craft but her sense of self.
Finding Community and Confronting Fear
Brown arrived shy and soft-spoken, earning the nickname “Shaky.” It wasn’t mean; it was honest. But her professors saw more.
“I was very nervous,” she said. “My teachers helped me break out of that my freshman year.”
One moment stands out: a performance assignment that required heels, something she’d never worn.
“I borrowed my aunt’s stilettos,” she said. “I kind of Bambi-walked to the front.”
Her classmates and professor cheered her on, teaching her to transition to “kitty heels.”
It became her first breakthrough, and her first glimpse into the tight-knit community she now calls her foundation.
“I’m glad I chose Central,” she said. “They helped me understand who I was as a person first. Everything else grew from there.”
The Pressure Behind the Curtain
But community didn’t erase the challenges.
As the oldest sibling in her family and a co-breadwinner, Brown juggled school, rehearsals, performances and multiple outside theater jobs, often late into the night.
“Sometimes I put myself on the back burner,” she said. “It’s still a working challenge.”
Her professors played a major role in helping her stay balanced. “They’d call me like, ‘Hey, did you eat today?’” she said. “Slowly but surely, I’m finding my way.”
Breakthrough Moments
Brown’s “mama, I made it in college” moment came with her debut role in NCCU’s production of “The Bus Stop,” a play about the effects of the prison system.
“When we took it to KCACTF (The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival) and we won with it, I was like, oh, nationals!” she said.
The show later partnered with an arts fellowship program that brought her to Atlanta to speak about the production.
Behind the scenes, she shined just as brightly. As production manager for “Mad at Miles,” which criticizes jazz musician Miles Davis for brutality to women and draws parallels to abusive male behavior in everyday relationships, Brown said her professors stepped back and trusted her leadership. The production went on to win first placethe National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts Conference, cementing her strength in technical theater.
Making Her Mark in a Male-Dominated Field
Outside NCCU, Brown works as an assistant technical director with the North Carolina Black Repertory Company and has supported productions, including “Motown Christmas” in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She also serves as a lighting designer, a rarity for women in the field. A 2022 report by HowlRound Theatre Commons found that women held 20.9% of lighting roles in the U.S.
“You have to make your mark and make it strong,” she said. “When I got there, they were like, ‘Oh, we see you.’”
The local union sees her too.
“I’m one of a few Black female light designers who can just say, ‘What board is it? Let me work on it.’”
Looking Ahead: Graduate School and Bigger Stages
With graduation weeks away, Brown is continuing her current theatre jobs while preparing for her next leap: a Master of Fine Arts program. She hopes to attend graduate school in 2026, considering institutions in California, Chicago or New Orleans.
“I just want to experience theater in places where it’s a little bit bigger than North Carolina,” she said.
Her long-term dream? “The big screen, hopefully. Or Broadway.”
And her advice for young women wanting to pursue theater?
“Sometimes we humble ourselves too much,” she said. “We’re born to be unique and great. Don’t diminish your light for anybody else.”