Meet Kailin Brown

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kailin Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Kailin , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I have dealt with numerous very difficult losses in my life. Both of my theatre teachers who were more than family to me passed very suddenly only a couple years apart from each other. Helen, my community theatre director since I was three, was the first person who saw potential in me and took a chance on letting this little kid with big dreams join the adult theatre company when I was four. Aikins was the head of my high school’s musical theatre program and became one of my best friends over my four years there. He passed away from a heart attack about one month before I graduated high school. One year later, after my first year at Pace University, my mom passed away from brain cancer. This much loss has taught me that there is no room for being scared or worried about the future, and that I have to make every moment count with no regrets. I saw resiliency in my mom every day, not just the days she was fighting the cancer, but every day before then as a single mom of three headstrong competitive dancers. She taught me how to be resilient and never let myself feel defeated, and even in her afterlife she is still teaching me about resiliency.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve spent my life since I was two years old doing theatre and dance, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else for my career. I grew up doing competitive dance and community theatre in Burlington, Ontario, and then went to Etobicoke School of the Arts for Musical Theatre and Dance. My dream was to one day end up in New York City to pursue my dreams of being on Broadway, so I attended Pace University for Musical Theatre and minored in Commercial Dance. A few months after I graduated I was cast as Velma Kelly in the Broadway National Tour of Chicago, and was on tour from October of 2023 until the end of May 2024. I’ve had my priorities set as a performer mainly, especially while my body can still do more demanding choreography, however I’ve also always dreamt of being a choreographer myself. I started choreographing for my high school shows when I was in grade 10, and continued to have small choreo gigs here and there so I could continue to find my artistry through choreography. I’m a permanent member of Thistle Dance in New York City, where I can marry my love of contemporary dance with horror. I’m excited to start taking on more of an associate role within the company while also being a member of ELSCO as a dancer. I feel like I’m finally in a place where I’m able to pursue the more creative side of my career more seriously, and find ways to keep creating when I’m not performing in a show. I’ve been able to find my choreographic voice through the lens of being a non-binary performer, and how I can challenge the gendered structure of the performance industry by breaking down those barriers as both a performer and as a creator.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

One quality that I always try to carry throughout any audition, performance, or rehearsal that I’m a part of is kindness towards everyone involved. I’ve been on both sides of the table and it’s very apparent who has a genuine kindness towards the people they work with. They are also the people who usually have a stronger work ethic and you can tell have a love for their artistry and their work, which is unfortunately not always the case for everyone. I’ve built so many incredible relationships with other artists and creatives by always walking into a room with excitement and love and fostering a mutual respect for everyone involved.
A skill that I’m still working on developing throughout my journey in theatre is stepping outside of my comfort zone, and having no fear when it comes to doing something I’m not as confident in. I try to always think of a new challenge as an opportunity to expand my skill set, because always sticking to what you know and what is easy won’t take you very far in life. I try to accept these challenges head on, and remove my ego about looking or feeling stupid. Every audition or role is fun and exciting to me, even if I’m scared of it at first.
Lastly, I have found that whether or not I’m involved in a show or a project of any kind that it’s still important to find a creative outlet at least once a day. I like to improv or journal, sometimes I draw or go to a dance class; whatever it is to keep my creativity flowing I feel much more grounded and centred when I do this. It’s especially vital to me when I’m doing the same show for an extended period of time, and need something to keep me refreshed in other areas of my creativity.
My advice for those who are early on in their journey would be to take risks and lead with love. Love for yourself and your art and for those who are trying to do the same thing you are. Find gratitude in the little moments of life and allow that to carry you into the scary and exciting parts of the industry. Don’t walk into a room as anything less than your authentic self, and don’t be afraid to try something new and take a risk, because that’s when you’ll shine the brightest.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?

I often feel overwhelmed, especially because I’ve been diagnosed with OCD, chronic anxiety, and ADHD since I was around six years old. There are always going to be stressors in my life, no matter how big or small, but the ways in which I’m learning to overcome that stress have been more than necessary to keep myself grounded. I love breath-work and finding moments of high anxiety to take a pause and breathe to clear my head. I also find that holding ice cubes or splashing my face with cold water always helps, because it slows down your heart rate and brings me back to a sense of calm by focusing on the cold feeling. I (as well as many people I know) love to journal and write down my thoughts instead of acting on outbursts of emotion. Honestly, what works for me more so than any of these strategies I mentioned is crying. I am a very emotional person and allow myself to be emotionally vulnerable when it’s needed, and there is nothing better than a good cry to honour my feelings while also getting out the pent up energy instead of pushing it away. I live by the saying “everything happens for a reason,” so I try to come back to that when I’m dealing with something difficult or overwhelming. I know that what is meant for me will happen, because I do everything I can within my control, and the rest will fall into place in response to the energy I put out into the universe.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kailinbrown.com/
• Instagram: @kailinbrownn

Image Credits

Leilani P Carr
Jacob Hiss
Jeremy Daniel
KAMeraShoots
Monte Photeaux