Life & Work with Ayla Kell

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ayla Kell.

Hi Ayla, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I got started in the arts young. I was obsessed with ballet and even as a little kid was willing to do whatever it took to perform for people. After convincing my mom to let me take classes, I auditioned for Los Angeles Opera to play the child in Madame Butterfly. I got the gig and at age five was doing several shows a week…and my fate was sealed. I didn’t want to do anything but be in the arts. I did more stage performing when I was young, focusing mainly on dance until acting started to pop for me. I booked a series of regular jobs at 17 (I was 18 right before we shot) and fully adjusted my sights to acting. I learned so much in that five years on set. What every department did and just how important each person on set was. There truly are no small roles on set. Next, I went on to do some more movies, and that was when I figured out how much I like to produce. I have so much respect for the process of filming that I am willing to do work my butt off to prove I belong there every single day. On my next horizon is directing, but that will come when the time is right. Everything always does.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some of the struggles that I faced through my path were arduous, but I would say hardly unique. One of the biggest ones I faced that ANY over achieving youngster would tell you is balance. The balance between dance, music, working shows, being in acting classes, auditions, school, and OH RIGHT… a childhood is impossible. It leads to tension that inevitably snaps, and usually the snap is a part of your body finally saying “Enough.” You are endlessly tired, you don’t get to just go hang out with your friends, you eat dinner at 10 PM, and you always somehow have dance clothes under other clothes. There is a moment for every young artist who feels this way where they wonder if it’s all worth it and what it would be like to just be a kid for a week, laying around eating chips on the couch. Fortunately, for a lot of us that moment is fleeting, knowing we (italics) don’t want to be like everyone else. We want more. We know that the pain, sweat, tears, and literal blood has put a grit in us unlike any other. A grit we have learned to not just smile through but enjoy. When people ask where I get my work ethic (because I am absolutely a glutton for tireless work) I smirk and shrug like it isn’t my favorite compliment in the world and say “I used to do this in a tutu.”

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an artist above all else, that is the easiest way to put it. I am an actor, a dancer, a musician, a singer, a writer, a chef, a photographer, and above all else: a human. I specialize in the study of people and the amazingly beautiful and painful experiences we all share in one way or another. In the relationships that give us air and the ones that punch us in the gut and knock it right out of us. I love studying the way people express themselves and how often they say exactly the opposite of what they actually want to. I cry when I see people trying their hardest, so I cry a lot. That is what I bring to my work, my love for people. I am most proud of being able to share that, because honestly even if no one ever paid me to act again… I would never stop. I don’t want to say directly what sets me apart from others because when I think of how hard they have worked, it makes me cry (of course). Instead, I will say another thing that makes me good at what I do is my sense of community. I am rooting for all of us to win, we deserve it.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
TV and Film is ever-evolving. I think in the next 5-10 years, it will be more inclusive, with talented women making killer films like they always have and finally getting the recognition they deserve. I think we will continue to see real portrayals of people on their worst days, that’s what most films are, consequently followed by their best day. I think we will see more stories where love prevails and that cool screens will only get more crazy, check out the AR Wall if you haven’t already (shout out to Rene & Jocelyn for making something awesome and being cool people). What I would really like to see in the next ten years is great filmmaking at every level from Ultra Low Budget to Blockbusters. There are great filmmakers out there and I’m lucky enough to know a few I would bet on.

Contact Info:

• Email: ayla@aylakell.com
• Website: https://www.aylakell.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aylak/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsAylaKell/

Image Credits
Paul Archuleta @ Getty, Max Marlow & Co.,