Meet Kayla Higbee, this week’s Campus Celebrity. This 20 year old, from Lake Bluff, Illinois, is a Musical Theater Voice sophomore in the Chicago College of Performing Arts. She loves comfy, oversized sweaters paired with skirts, tights and scarves. Her favorite place is Teavana and she’s definitely a feminist. If that does not convince you that she has earned this celebrity status, keep reading and find out the major role she landed in a CCPA main stage play!
About Roosevelt
Why did you choose Roosevelt?
The Chicago College of Performing Arts became my dream school the second I stepped into the building. I can’t imagine being on a campus in the middle of nowhere. It’s incredible being able to call the city my campus, Grant Park my quad, Lake Michigan my front yard… This school is right in the middle of everything, there’s always something to do, a show to see, and people to meet. Most importantly, I chose this school for the people. There was a sense of genuine, down to earth warmth from the staff and students of both Roosevelt and CCPA that I didn’t quite experience from other schools the way I did here. I felt truly, truly welcome.
Why did you choose your major?
I have been performing, singing, and acting since I can remember. It’s something my parents have always supported me in, and I honestly don’t know what I would do without music and theatre. I want to inspire people through my art, change them, help them to see different sides of themselves, emotionally touch the audience and give them new perspectives on life… As an artist citizen it’s my job to touch people through my work, pushing boundaries and making statements to make the world around us a better place. And, to quote composer/playwright/performer Lin-Manuel Miranda, “I fall in love for a living.”
What is you favorite Roosevelt memory?
One of my favorite memories was the freshman ferry ride during the week before classes started last year. The boat took us along the river as the sun was setting, and then brought us out to the lake at night. Everyone was dancing and making friends, socializing and getting to know everyone… but everyone had one moment throughout the night where they would break away from the group, look out, and see the entire Chicago skyline, its lights reflecting off the black water, stretching out in front of us. Everyone had a moment of silence where they saw the lights and realized, “… wow… this is my home now.”
Values
What social issues are important to you?
Currently, especially with everything going on in the world, equality is most important to me. Equality is a right that I believe no one should be denied. LGBT equality, racial equality, religious freedom and equality, gender equality… There are so many different avenues that branch off of the vague topic of “equality,” but each and every different aspect is important to all of the people that those aspects affect. No one should be left behind or ignored.
What is important to you in the upcoming presidential election?
#feelthebern. LOVE. Not hate. Moving forward, not taking things away.
Celebrity Status
Congratulations! We heard you were just casted in a CCPA main stage play. Tell us ALL about it!
I cannot express enough just how honored I am. I will be playing Hortense in the cast of The Baker’s Wife. My first cast show at CCPA, and a main stage too… I am beyond blessed and so very excited to be a part of the production and to be able to work with the rest of my cast mates and our director Ray Frewen, an absolute genius. And a huge congrats to my other fellow CCPA family members. I am so proud of each and every one of them!
There you have it! Go see Kayla in The Bakers Wife as Hortense this April. – Stay tuned; we’ll be sure to put it on our calendar!