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If you go to see a performance of The Secret Garden in Los Angeles soon, you’ll witness actress Kyla Stone perform on stage.
Stone has local roots. The Anaheim-born thespian went to school at Ambuehl Elementary School and Marco Forster Middle School in San Juan Capistrano before heading off to the South Orange County School of the Arts at Dana Hills High School.
Stone always loved theater and the arts growing up, a fascination that was nurtured at Ambuehl and Marco Forster through supportive teachers who let her sing in class.
Her mother was the office manager at Ambuehl, which Stone credits with easing the way into being able to be friends with her teachers.
Stone was able to sing the score to The Phantom of the Opera while in school, an outlet she carried with her as she got older. She still has friends from school who are also following their own paths and careers.
As for what she’s up to now, Stone is performing in The Secret Garden—which tells the story of a wealthy abandoned child who finds a hidden garden on her uncle’s estate—at the Ahmanson Theater, the same venue where she was first exposed to theater at the age of 5.
The show has just begun running for audiences.
“It was such an out-of-body experience,” she said of being on stage. “You never stop learning. You get to fulfill all sorts of dreams you never knew you had.”
Stone recently finished a 12-month tour in Anastasia, in which she was the first ever African American version of the title role.
“I’ve been auditioning for all sorts of things,” Stone said of what else she’s busy with in the meantime.
When asked the difference between Los Angeles and Orange County, Stone said life is more face-paced.
“A lot more traffic,” she said. “It takes two hours to get anywhere.”
Stone also noted you tend to run into people who are chasing a dream while in Los Angeles and constantly surrounded by artistic people.
As for her dreams, Stone said she already fulfilled hers by inspiring other people to get into theater through her theatrical performances.
She does have something else in mind, though.
“Broadway would be great one day,” Stone said. “I know it’ll come.”
