Mikayla Petrilla realized early on in her career that there was a “side door” to nearly everything. Although she hadn’t been a serious actor in school, Mikayla knew acting was her desired career. So she took all of her other skills and went to work supporting theatre companies, shows, and other theater-adjacent businesses. Eventually, she grew her acting resume and now has an impressive resume including Saturday Night Live, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Inventing Anna, and more.

In addition to her acting and “side door” work, Mikayla is dedicated to lifting up gender equality in the theater and tv/film industry through community and inclusiveness.

When not performing, Mikayla volunteers with Off the Lane, Young Storytellers, and Togetherhood, three organizations that support inclusive and accessible arts education for both inner city schools K-6 and young arts professionals.

Heather and Alan really enjoyed this conversation. It’s a beautiful reminder that there are lots of ways to solve a problem, get what you deeply desire, and be a damn good person in the process. Makayla’s self-awareness is inspiring.

Find all of Mikayla’s social links here.

Learn more on the website and Instagram.

• Make sure to follow this podcast everywhere you find podcasts, leave a rating and a review, and slip into our Instagram DMs at @wasitchance.
• More about Heather via @heather_ vickeryandco on Instagram and Threads, @Braveheather on TikTok, and listen to The Brave Files
• More about Alan via @theatre_podcast on Instagram and listen to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales

EPISODE TAKEAWAYS:

• Mikayla was the child put on the “family” stage for holidays.
• Becoming a performer was NOT chance - Mom put her into it. But chance still played a powerful role because Mikayla was not active in her school performances.
• When it was time to apply for college she decided to take the risk despite not doing as much performing as a teenager.
• Her theater teacher judged her personal charachter and that was unacceptable to 14 year-old Mikayla. Wise beyond her years, it pushed her forward in empowering ways.
• There is a “Side Door” to everything. Use your skills in multiple creative ways.
• Taking risk and having it pay off gives you confidence to ask for more and invite other people to collaborate.
• Being a valuable team member means recognising the importance of everyone's job, appreciating the roles everyone plays and being grateful.
• Manifestation is science
• “I don’t know how easy it would be for people to say yes!”
• The pandemic essentially forced people to turn inward and do necessary self-work.
• Accountability is incredibly powerful in achieving your dreams and goals.
• Cultivate as much calm as possible amongst the chaos.
• The grief process of “failure” is about knowing that we all move through it differently. It’s important to understand what happened and give yourself some grace.