Kayla Tomas

As a lifelong, multi-hyphenate artist, Kayla has flourished in using her experience in the theatre to bring people together, reimagining the ways that theatre can be used as gateway to connect, inform and spread joy. Her tenure at Emerson College has opened doors to the field of community engagement, shifting her perspective about how we tell stories and the ways we can foster connection in community.

In 2022, she was nominated by Emerson’s Theatre Education Graduate Faculty to serve as the 2022-23 Cutler Fellow, named in honor of Ted Cutler (‘51), an Emerson College alum and trustee emeritus who was a noted patron of the arts. Kayla worked closely with ArtsEmerson’s Creative Producers and the Director of Artistic Engagement to support existing audience engagement projects throughout the production season, focusing on ArtsEmerson’s concept: “The play is the prompt. The conversation is the point.” She developed and facilitated original engagement projects using season productions as a catalyst to reach new audience members including ArtsEmerson Inaugural Educator Night, creating and delivering a gathering and arts integration workshop for 20 Boston-area educators and teaching artists and a theatrical storytelling workshop with Castle Square Tenants Organization’s youth media interns, focusing on the beauty of where we come from and where we go from here. Post fellowship, Kayla now works with the ArtsEmerson Community Engagement team, where she works with local and global artists to develop specialized engagement projects, coordinates and initiates curricular engagement efforts within the college with departments, professors and student body, as well as provide research and resources to support audience interaction with the season’s productions.

In 2021, Kayla took over the coordination of NEMPAC’s monthly open mic nights, bringing artists of all ages and abilities together though music. Working with local partners, donors and non-profit organizations to expand this effort, reaching more of the Greater Boston Area and always keeping the event free and open to all who wish to participate.

Community Engagement Sample Resources Coming Soon.