about Kaya
Kaya was a late bloomer when it comes to acting. Suffering from serious senioritis his last semester in high school, Kaya decided to jokingly audition for The Beacon School’s 2012 production of Spring Awakening, the first high school allowed to do the uncut adulterated version. After belching “Twinkle Twinkle Litter Star”, director Jo-Ann Cimato came up to him the next morning. Kaya thought he was going to be reprimanded, but instead, he received a callback. His response? “Uh what’s that?” From there, Kaya knew he had found his calling.
After high school, Kaya attended Northeastern University in Boston from 2012-2017, majoring in Sociology and minoring in theater. After taking multiple technique and scene classes, Kaya was ready to audition for his first college production and was cast as A.P. in Columbinus, a commentary on Columbine high school shooting and gun violence. At Northeastern Kaya also played as Albert/Kevin in Clybourne Park, Chris Boxer in The Heidi Chronicles, and John in After Miss Julie, an adaptation of Ibsen’s original. Evolving his training, Kaya took classes in Shakespeare, on-camera training, and participated in a five-week improv and voice intensive at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2015. His desire and training paid off when in April of. 2016 Kaya was cast in his first professional show in Bridge Repertory’s production of Mud Blue Sky as Jonathan, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center of the Arts. His nuanced and natural performance earned him an Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) nomination in his professional debut for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for a fringe company. In September 2016, Kaya played George and Willie Bad Habits Productions’ How Soft The Lining, an original written by Kristine Greenridge and directed by M. Bevin O’Gara.
After graduating from Northeastern, Kaya was accepted into the prestigious William Esper Studio’s summer intensive. In addition to a core class of Meisner Technique with Deb Jekel, Kaya trained in voice with Patricia Fletcher, Mask with Akil Davis, and Alexander Technique with Judith Grodowitz.
Shortly after completing Esper’s intensive, Kaya was cast in his New York debut in Eugene Lefkowitz’s original Two-Fifths at Manhattan Repertory Theater. Kaya currently resides in Brooklyn, NY and is also a Boston local hire.