No Small Roles With Kayla Acosta
One of a college student’s greatest questions in life is “what am I really going to do after graduation?” It is a question that both haunts and excites anyone who wishes to find out the answer. It is a question that challenges a person’s plans and their passions. “Is it feasible? Is it for me? Is it what I want?” All these questions follow up when considering what the future holds. The places we will reach are uncharted terrain but for Kayla Acosta, it certainly has been a one of a kind ride since graduating in 2014.
But before anything else, who exactly is Kayla Acosta? She is a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor degree in Music Literature. It has always been her hobby to sing and play instruments while growing up. At a young age, she learned how to play the guitar, piano, and violin. Much of her drive to purse the arts came from this. When she got into college, she joined the Ateneo Blue Symphony and was fairly active as one of the performers in its events. Being a performer, she also participated in many programs that showcased her leadership in acting, dancing and singing such as her BIDA STAR: Ateneo Blue Christmas project where she became the class host project head and her performance in Pinoy x Broadway: A COOllaborative Recital which was supervised by Jonathan Coo.
She initially planned to go to the UP conservatory of music, but was instead driven to take up psychology as a pre-law course. With an aspiration to pattern her life in college through that of her parents’ careers, Kayla strived to go to law school after college. However, one semester later in UP Law, she realized that much of what she was experiencing at that point wasn’t aligned with what she really wanted to do. Her heart sought for her to take on the life of performer. She wanted to take up performing arts. Her parents, to no surprise, were shocked at her decision. Her father and mother were both active and known lawyers and both had certain expectations on Kayla. However, after her parents watched her showcase/recital at that time, she was able to show them and make them realize that this is what she wanted. Up to this day, Kayla’s parents have been supportive of her decisions.
Ever since she decided to take up her current life as a performer, she has gone through so many activities that helped her become who she is today. At present, Kayla is into the musical theater and entertainment (TV and Film) industry, working on one project after another. She has been taking TV roles, musical theater roles, workshops—among many others, saying that she “simply goes where the opportunities strike.” She feels, however, that things should not be rushed especially because she just started with everything only a year ago. According to her, her biggest drive when it comes to balancing every job, assignment, role, or activity that she tackles is a “go for the goal” attitude. To Kayla, this mindset is what helps her quench her thirst for art and slowly fulfill her passions. Having concluded her most recent assignment with ABS-CBN acting as a character named Celine in FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano, she is currently opening herself up to numerous auditions in many big and small productions both in TV and Theater.
Having to answer the question of what her favorite experience was after everything that has happened so far, she says, “there’s none. . .I simply love doing what I want.” Everything she is doing in her life right now has built up her whole experience as a performing artist. She goes on saying that she “firmly believes that everything is part of a colorful and learning experience,” addressing the number of activities that she took part of thus far. Her biggest take away from her journey as a performing artist is that everything that she has experienced helped her to become more bold and confident. With all the tasks and roles that she takes up, each activity would help her hone her craft even more along with the different techniques she picked up from past and current co-actors, associates and directors.
Music, among other things, plays a big part of Kayla Acosta’s life. It was there when she graduated from the Music Literature Minor program in Ateneo. It was what helped her parents realize her potential as a performer. It is what helped her realize what she loved. It is what guides her today. Her advice for anyone aspiring to take up a life driven by what they are passionate about is to “never stop learning, [to] enhance your skills as early as and, of course, [to] fight for what you truly love before it’s too late.” The future may be daunting, but if one works hard for a life they love, happiness eventually comes.
The journey we have will keep on unraveling as life goes on. Such is the reality of our future. It is, however, our decision to continue treading the path we are taking now or to chance upon a new one along the way. There is still so much ground to cover on the hill that we were raised to proudly stand on, but we should always remember to do what makes us really happy no matter how green the grass will be or how blue the sky gets because in this play we call life, there are no small roles, just small actors.
*Article written by Macky Manlulo, edited by Yani Pulido
*Image courtesy of Kayla Acosta