About ME

Ayla Rodriguez was born in October, 2003 to her loving parents. Since she was young, she's had an affinity for theatre. Her initial calling to the stage, however, was through dance. She danced recreationally from the age of 3 until she was 8, whereupon she joined Gary Taylor Dance Company and started her career as a dancer. She was trained pre-professionally in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, and musical theatre for four years. She danced her way into many different roles, her favorite being Clara in the Nutcracker.

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At the age of 12, Ayla decided to make the decision to leave dance after having knee surgery in January of 2016. From there, she continued her journey into the arts as the Narrator in her middle school production of Into the Woods Jr. Ayla has never failed to participate in a production opportunity. Her favorite show that she has had the opportunity to act in was RENT, where she portrayed the role of Maureen. Another favorite role of hers was Viola/Cesario in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Ayla is also proud to have called herself a Temple Teen for 5 years, where she performed on behalf of the Temple Theatre. She studied over the summer of 2019 at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, furthering her passion for the arts.

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Ayla wants to share her love of theatre with others and works towards success every day. She not only loves being onstage, but working backstage as well. She has a passion for lighting design and developed her technical theatre porfolio at Pinecrest High School. Over the summer of 2021, Ayla Rodriguez was nominated for and attended NC Governor's School with a focus on theatre. By doing so, she extended her love for theatre and grew her expertise both onstage and off, performing in 3 different devised theatre pieces.

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After leaving Governor's School, Ayla returned home and began working on her school's NCTC (North Carolina Theatre Conference) production. She portrayed the Antigone in Antigone, and went on to win "Outstanding Achievement in Acting" at both the Regional and State competitions. This award, given only to 2 actors at each competition, was awarded to her alongside 2 scholarships to private North Carolina universities.

 

In the spring semester, Ayla portrayed the role of Tilly in She Kills Monsters, a role that she holds close to her heart. Acting as a lead, she learned basic sword fighting and combat training while telling a beautiful story. Shortly after, Ayla auditioned for New York York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and was granted the honor of admittance to the program. Although she had to decline the offer due to conflicts, she, now 19, has committed herself to pursuing theatre at the University of North Carolina (UNC), Chapel Hill, where she is currently working to obtain her B.A. in Dramatic Art and her B.A. in Media and Journalism.

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Currently at UNC, she is sharpening her skills both onstage and off, learning the skills of professional clowning, another form of performance that she hopes to pursue in the future, while also sharpening her knowledge of theatre history. Over the summer of 2023, Ayla performed as an actor in several short comedy films through an Acting for the Film course at offered at UNC.

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