Today we’d like to introduce you to Kylie Gray Mask.
Hi Kylie Gray, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I’ve always had a proclivity for performing – my mother says that as a child I would sing to strangers in the grocery store! Eventually, my love of all things performance led me to pursue a degree in acting, and in 2018 I earned my BFA in Acting and Musical Theatre Minor from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Upon graduation, I moved to Fort Myers, Florida to progress my career through an acting internship at Florida Repertory Theatre. I spent the better part of a year eating, sleeping, and breathing professional theatre before the pandemic hit and brought our work to a screeching halt.
During the early days of the pandemic, I returned to Greensboro to reassess my plans for the future. While there, I began taking on-screen acting classes at in-STUDIO and realized that I wanted to focus more attention into working in TV and Film. With little more than this revised dream and my best friend at my side, I packed all my belongings into a moving truck and set off for Atlanta in 2020.
Once I arrived in Atlanta, I spent the better part of a year submitting for any and every audition I could get my hands on, all while getting my bearings on the city and building a little community for myself. Everyone has heard the timeless trope about artists having a bunch of side gigs – and I was no exception. I explored many different avenues for revenue and struggled to find one that brought me any sense of fulfillment. Then, I found Yonder Yoga.
A friend of mine invited me to take a class with her at Yonder Yoga and it was a whole new world to me. I had dabbled in yoga throughout the years, but I had never taken classes that were so challenging and hot. But, there was more to it than that. The teachers were kind and uplifting, they shared messages encouraging self-love and evolution, and the community was welcoming. I was hooked, and soon decided to join their 200 hour yoga teacher training course. After I completed my training, they hired me to teach, and what was once a half-hearted hobby quickly became the thing that sustained my life, allowed me to give back to my community and brought me inner peace.
I also began to find a through-line between yoga and acting that had been right in front of me all along- somatics. Through my acting work I became more familiar with the world of somatic movement and its power to heal. In 2019, a former acting professor helped launch the Selver Awareness Leaders Training Institute, where I deepened my studies of somatic mindfulness. This experience was what opened my eyes to the way our bodies are the key to our emotional and mental wellbeing. It took me a while to realize it, but that is what ultimately drew me to yoga- the practice of yoga asana is itself a somatic practice. After completing my yoga teacher training, I began to incorporate somatic mindfulness exercises into my classes to encourage students to settle into their bodies as a means to tap into their spiritual energy.
These two worlds, acting and somatics, were quite separate in my mind when I first came to them. However, as I progress in each field, I find more and more that the two worlds are intrinsically linked. Somatic practices strengthen my mind/body/soul connection, which ultimately brings new levels of depth to my work as an actor.This observation is corroborated by the fact that since I cultivated a dedicated yoga and mindfulness practice, I have received more bookings and callbacks than I ever had before!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Some of my greatest challenges have actually presented themselves within the past few years. Navigating the entertainment industry in a new city during the pandemic was (and is) a challenge, to say the least. This industry is all about who you know and paying your dues- and it can take years to get your foot in the right door. Any actor you’ll ever meet is no stranger to rejection, and for a while I was encouraged simply by receiving consistent auditions. But eventually, without consistent bookings, I found that my sense of identity was challenged. After all, I had been performing my whole life. Every year since I was 13 I had been on stage, working on sets, or at least behind the scenes. The craft was what I had dedicated so much of my time, energy, and resources to. Above all, I believed that acting was what people expected of me, and without it I was a failure.
Missing the rush of collaborating with other artists, the thrill of bringing a story to life, the exchange of energy with castmates and audience members, I was left sinking in wave after wave of rejection- dragged deeper down by the undertow of a soul sucking 9-5. I reached a point where it was time to take control over my happiness rather than waste away and let my entire sense of self worth rely on whether or not I was hired to work as an actor.
That burnout was the true catalyst in my decision to take yoga teacher training. YTT filled my life with vibrant, diverse, inspiring women, and I was honored to be one among them. My newfound community celebrated me for exactly who I was, encouraged me to explore the possibilities for my life that I had never entertained. Teaching yoga has reminded me how good it feels to love what I do, to be hungry to learn and work hard to improve myself. It reminded me that performing is just one aspect of who I am- albeit a large one. Still, this revelation brought me such a profound sense of freedom. I do not continue to pursue acting because I feel I have to, but because it is what I love.
Acting pushed me towards yoga, and yoga draws me towards acting. There is a symbiotic relationship between the two that feeds my creativity and desire to connect to others through healing work. I have clarity in knowing that acting is more than ‘the thing I’ve always done,’ it is a way to create a space for catharsis and healing and give back to my community. This newfound clarity of intention has reinvigorated me and encouraged me to delve deeper into the world of entertainment.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have found that my true passion lies in facilitating experiences that bring people closer to their true self. If I were to pinpoint what sets me apart from others, it is my ability to objectively observe every aspect of a situation, a person, or a story and find the beauty in it. I believe that we are all created out of a complicated mix of light and dark, love and hate, good and bad. While many others may be afraid to witness the shadowed aspects of their inner worlds, I find it empowering. I believe that it is through an unflinching examination of these shadows that we come to meet many of our motivating factors. Once we understand our darkness and learn to treat it with compassion, we find space to transmute that energy and reincorporate it into the whole self. This creates a fuller, richer, more honest and open perspective on life, and ultimately helps us find the light and love in all things.
As an actor, this shows up in my love of sharing stories that leave audience members feeling seen, challenged, as well as open to receiving new information about themselves and the world around them. Feel-good art has its place in the world, but I find myself drawn to art that reveals a bit of the soft, white underbelly of humanity. More specifically, I desire to share queer and Southern stories as I identify with both of those designations. There is a certain level of grit inherently present in any Southern tale because the American South is a land of sordid history, poverty, and hardship. In a similar vein, the history of queerness is fraught with oppression, struggles to define identity, and discover true self-acceptance. It is easy to turn a blind eye to these seemingly ugly sides of humanity, but I think it takes bravery to stare at them head-on, to question them, accept them, and welcome the beauty that emerges from that ugliness. Out of struggle, both cultures have woven tapestries of life rich with diversity, art, and a deep sense of community through shared history.
I am most proud of my acting work that has supported the exploration of these gritty narratives, including my roles as Margaret in an international tour of Wolf Child: The Correction of Joseph by Edward Mast, Noah in a staged reading of Spay by Madison Fiedler, and understudy of June in the world premiere of Alabaster by Audrey Cefaly. I was also pleased to recently film a queer scene for my first SAG co-star, for which I signed an NDA and cannot discuss (for now). In each of these projects, I was able to use the shadow work I had done with myself to explore what motivated my characters. I incorporated their good, bad and ugly into my characterizations, making them relatable, loveable, and hopefully a bit of a mirror for the audiences to examine their own truths.
This same principal also shows up in my work with yoga and somatic mindfulness. A lot of our instincts are actually defense mechanisms programmed into us through early childhood experiences, trauma responses, or survival tactics passed through ancestral DNA. By utilizing body awareness and meditation, we can create space between the ego ‘self’ and our instinctual mental and physical responses to external stimuli. That space is where critical self-reflection lives. When curating a class or private session, I use language to encourage clients to tap into that space for inner work which supports them in the healing of old wounds and rewiring of their thought patterns. It is no small thing to take on this ‘guide’ role for clients, and it is my hope that my work with them improves their lives and, ultimately the surrounding community that I have come to love.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
This craft requires an immense amount of dedication and self-discipline, as well as a certain amount of luck. I’ll open up a bit about my spirituality and tell you that I believe that luck has played a huge role in my life, but I call it something different. Universe, source, God, karma, etc. – all of these are terms I would use to describe the powers at play during the most impactful and serendipitous moments of my life. You never know when someone you meet will later become someone who gives you a job, a life-changing piece of advice, or a nudge in the right direction. It is my personal philosophy that we are each here on earth with a gift, inner truth, mission, or purpose. Our lives are journeys designed to help us truly meet ourselves, harness our gift, and share it with the world. Every day we encounter people, places, and things that are on our path for a reason – to remind us of that gift, to guide us on the path towards greatest happiness and fulfillment. It is up to us whether or not we are open to those signs.
I believe those moments of guidance are what led me to Atlanta. I spent many years with no clear vision of what I wanted my life to look like. I adopted goals and dreams from the preachings of college professors, the whims of peers, the expectations I imagined my family had of me. These adopted dreams never sat well in my soul, and I found myself feeling almost clueless as to how I wanted to utilize my gifts. In some ways, that aimlessness was exactly what I needed. Without being tethered to a specific desired outcome, I was able to go with the flow. A mentor suggested I consider a post-undergrad internship rather than rushing off to NYC, and it was during the internship that I found my voice as an actress. A former professor held a leadership role at the Selver Awareness Institute and it opened my eyes to the world of somatic healing. COVID-19 forced me to rethink my life plans, and I unexpectedly found myself drawn to Atlanta. A chance meeting with a peer inspired a friendship that led me to pursue yoga teacher training.
Here in Atlanta, I have made friends who adore me, truly see and value me, and believe in me in a way I never had before. I have found the space for deep inner exploration which, in turn, has helped me manifest a life that I love. My life and my work are in alignment with my values and overflowing with opportunity. Who’s to say I wouldn’t have had the same experiences somewhere else? Maybe. But I believe I was meant to be here to expedite my soul’s growth, to unlock my power, and to tune in to my true purpose.
Happily, I can say that in many ways I feel like my life has just begun. Now that I know myself, I trust that every step forward will be allied with my higher calling. If that doesn’t make me lucky, then I don’t know what does.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kyliegraymask.com
- Instagram: @kyliegraymask
Image Credits:
The photos of me doing yoga are by Katelyn Vines, courtesy of Yonder Yoga. The production photos are by Joe Daffeldecker, courtesy of Florida Repertory Theatre. My headshot and body shots are by Curtis & Cort Photography. There is a still of on-camera work I did in school, courtesy of UNC Greensboro. The photo of me with a stone on my head is courtesy of the Sensory Awareness Foundation.
