Who is Kayla Ray?

Kayla Ray is a Creative Storyteller and Actress based in the beautiful state of Georgia where she was born and raised. Since she was little, Kayla loved to don a fantastical costume and escape to the backyard where she would imagine the most magical stories. As the eldest of six in her family, Kayla’s younger siblings were often drafted into these lively tales of intrigue, action, and romance. And thus, it came as no surprise, when at the age of 13, Kayla declared her intention to study creative storytelling, theatrical arts, and filmmaking as she thought more seriously about her future. Community theater became her creative outlet in high school and these years brought wonderful memories of narrating Beauty and the Beast Jr, discovering a lost civilization in Atlantis and battling the White Witch in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. However, the adventure that sealed her passion for all things filmmaking was the opportunity to visit the set of Kingdom Story Company’s feature film I Still Believe. That memorable 8hr day felt like a long overdue homecoming and it was there Kayla acknowledged a calling to the faith-focused entertainment industry. When it came time to pick a college major, a bachelor’s degree in Theatrical Arts and Digital Film Production seemed like the natural choice. Her four years at Shorter University opened many doors, built exciting connections, and taught Kayla countless valuable lessons about herself, her faith, and her chosen career. After graduating in 2023, Kayla now spends her time with her acting coach, card-making for all her friends’ special occasions, attending film festivals, and watching movies with her family. Looking to the future, Kayla has hopeful plans for the faith-focused entertainment industry as she seeks to find her place where she'll realize her God-given dreams of telling inspiring messages in cinematically and technically proficient media.

Q & A with Kayla

These 6 questions and answers provide a brief and candid picture of Kayla Ray as a person, actor, and artist.

How would you describe your Acting Brand?

I am the spunky, devoted friend, with a plan

What have you been working on?

I recently graduated magna cum laude with my Bachelor's degree in Theatre and Digital Film Production from Shorter University. Where I also became a member of the national Honor Societies Lambda Pi Eta and Alpha Psi Omega for Theater and Communications respectively. My current focus is to gain more experience in filmmaking, I'm seeking to do this through various opportunities to volunteer on sets, attending film festivals and private coaching with active film industry professionals.

What type of projects are you looking to work on?

My dream is to participate in high-quality inspirational storytelling. I want to help audiences be introduced to new perspectives or worldviews...to be able to go somewhere they've never been before. Examples of this, in my own story are The Chronicles of Narnia, Five Feet Apart, I Still Believe, and Sweet Magnolias.

How would you describe your acting style?

When I'm entrusted with a character, I first determine their motivations, objectives, and relationships in the context of the scene(s). I’m naturally more of an internal actor but my many years of theatrical training assists me in external acting decisions as well. Once I establish my character's goals, then I extrapolate my character’s personality. Fusing all these choices together, I use my memorization of the script and the exercise of repetition to build the layers through recitation. My creative brain and my tailored homeschooled education lets me process through visualization and critical thinking. My natural gift of empathy is a wonderful asset in relating to my character. I’ve also been repeatedly told that I’m excellent at taking direction and applying it to my performance quickly and thoroughly. With a little guidance and a little freedom, I love bringing a variety of characters to life.

Which Actors do you admire and Why?

Alexa Penavega for her ability to balance raising a Christian family and have an Acting Career. *This is a dream of mine for one day in the near future.
Sarah Drew & Joseph Morgan, for their ability to truly make me forget previous characters that I've known them as and to enjoy whomever they are playing at that moment in time. I always strive to perform with that level of believability.
Cole Sprouse for his recommitment to the artistic side of the industry and not to be consumed with money or overall peer-to-peer success.
Tom Hanks for his amazing versatility and for his ability to bring back to life historical legends such as Walt Disney, and Mister Rogers.
Amber & Justin Sterner and T.C. Stallings for their commitments to participating in clean and God-honoring entertainment.

What are some of your passions outside of acting?

Aside from acting, I enjoy spending time with my Family, discovering new favorite movies, deepening my faith and being able create art.

Christ is the reason I wake up in the morning and I've forever thankful for all that He has done for me. I love to use all of the talents HE has given me, especially my creatively focused mind, a talent which often manifests itself in a variety of projects from poster-making, digital designs, movie watching, doll hairstyling, reading veraciously...etc.

Things to ask me about:

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Films by the Kendrick Brothers or the Erwin Brothers.
Book-to-Movie Adaptations of the YA Fiction genre.
Board Games
American Girl Universe

Behind the Brand:

Are you wondering why the top of my website features a Teal Lion? That's a fantastic question and I'd love to answer it. When I was challenged to create a personal brand for myself that both showcased my personality and honored my career goals, I immediately jumped to my longtime inspiration of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I borrowed the elements of Aslan and the Lamppost and then created the film slate and hanging letter font on one of my digital design apps. Lastly, I included my career verse of Phil. 1:6 which humbly reminds me that I didn't seek out this industry of my accord, but rather my Father called me to a Media/Entertainment career and HE will bring me to the right people and the right opportunities at the right time...all I have to do is be Faithful to Him, and seek His Kingdom first!

Who is Kayla Ray?

Q & A with Kayla

Reviews

Behind the Brand:

This website uses cookies.