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[0:00] Jan Svendsen: Welcome to the Broadway Gives Back Podcast. I'm your host, Jan Svendsen. This podcast spotlights Broadway actors, shows, and organizations in their pursuit of social impact and philanthropy. Join us as some of the brightest lights on Broadway share their stories about their favorite charities and how they got involved, and the people and the causes who benefited from these philanthropic efforts. Kaila Mullady is a worldwide beatbox champion and a cast member of the Tony Award-winning Freestyle Love Supreme. Kaila performs all around the country, infusing beatboxing, singing, rapping, and theater to push the boundaries of creativity and show just what the human instrument is capable of. And if all this is not impressive enough, Kaila travels around the world to help others by promoting expression and leadership through music.

She also supports others by using her beatboxing as a tool for speech therapy. She started her own organization called the Academy of Noise to inspire youth and to find the power of their voice. Kaila uses her beatboxing to help people open up, collaborate, and build confidence. I am so excited to have my next guest here today. Welcome, Kaila, to the Broadway Gives Back podcast.

[1:21] Kaila Mullady: Oh, yeah. How are you, my friend?

[1:30] Jan Svendsen: Oh, my God. That's exactly what I wanted and what I needed today. Thank you. I'm good. It's so nice to see you.

[1:36] Kaila Mullady: It's so great to see you as well. Thank you. I'm very excited to talk to you more.

[1:39] Jan Svendsen: I am so excited to talk to you. So we met at a gala.

[1:45] Kaila Mullady: Yes.

[1:46] Jan Svendsen: Where first of all, not just any gala, you are really getting all your flowers. And that was an amazing thing to see the just depth of your work and how much you care about the community. Incredible, incredible gala.

[1:54] Kaila Mullady: Well, thank you. Yes. Kaila came to a gala where I was sort of honored a little bit too. And Freestyle Love Supreme performed. They were just amazing. And I've loved them and been a fan for a long time. For those of you who don't know, Freestyle Love Supreme was founded by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Veneziale, and Tommy Kail. And they continue today to do so much great work. And we'll talk about that in a few minutes. But I'm very excited to have you here. And Kaila told me at the gala about all this insane, amazing work she's doing to make the world a better place and use her incredible talent. So I am very excited to have her here and have this conversation. But I thought we might start, I would normally ask people some like rapid fire questions about them just so the listeners can get to know people better. So I'm going to give you the option to answer the question, regular words, or if you want to rap it or freestyle it or do whatever you want to do beatbox it. You can communicate in any way you want.

[2:53] Kaila Mullady: I love that challenge accepted, right? Okay, here we go. What are three words that you would say describe you?

[3:03] Kaila Mullady: We got energy, you know, we've got joy. We got fun. You know, we got more. I would do more. But you did say three. So energy, yeah, joy and just fun. That's what it's all about.

[3:32] Jan Svendsen: That is what you're all about. And thank you. Okay, what's a word that you hate hearing?

[3:39] Kaila Mullady: A word that I hate hearing. That's an incredible, incredible thing to ask. I just think limit or maybe talent, I think is a very limiting word. So either of those things. Like I think when people see what I do, or what they see what we as Freestyle Love Supreme do, they're always like, Oh, I could never do that. That must take some talent that I wasn't born with. And I think that that is a plague that a lot of us have in our mind, where we see other people doing things, and we immediately think that, oh, that could never be me. But it's possible for us all to do things that we did not think were possible, you know, years ago with practice.

[4:14] Jan Svendsen: Yes, we will not be having me freestyle on this podcast. I think I am limited and don't have the talent.

[4:21] Kaila Mullady: Oh, be careful saying that around me.

[4:24] Jan Svendsen: If you were a spy, what would your codename be?

[4:28] Kaila Mullady: Ooh, what would my codename be? I mean, I go by Kaiser Rose in the show. So I can't use that. I think that would be like a little bit too on the nose. I would like to think maybe like the Puma, you know, just something like very mysterious. You don't know what's going to happen. And I was thinking this too. And maybe this is a question for you. If you were a super spy, what kind of what would your role be? Like, if you're in the heist, what are you doing?

[4:53] Jan Svendsen: Well, first of all, what are you doing if you're in the heist?

[4:57] Kaila Mullady: Oh, I'm distraction. Absolutely. I can cause a scene, I can cause a distraction. I will make people look to the left when on the right, that's when everything's going down, you know?

[5:07] Jan Svendsen: Okay, I am probably the connector. I'm connecting the dots, like I'm connecting the people and the dots and the things.

[5:13] Kaila Mullady: I love that. You're in the van outside and you're really making sure that everything's happening. You know, everyone's on their mark.

[5:19] Jan Svendsen: Yes, but I'm not using technology to do it because I'm not good at that.

[5:23] Kaila Mullady: No, no, no. We don't need that for you. You know, you're too advanced for that.

[5:27] Jan Svendsen: Yeah, old school technology. So do you have a favorite theater or movie quote?

[5:33] Kaila Mullady: You know, maybe this is why I do improv a lot. I am not the person. I could watch a movie 5000 times. Quotes or lines of things don't really get stuck in my head. And I think that that's why I have the skill set that I have. I'm not the best at memorizing things, but if you need me to do something on the spot, I got you.

[5:52] Jan Svendsen: And you do for sure.

[5:53] Kaila Mullady: Yeah.

[5:54] Jan Svendsen: What about favorite Disney character and why?

[5:57] Kaila Mullady: In general, the best Disney movie of all time is The Emperor's New Groove. It just is. I just love the music in it and I love everything about it. So I don't think I'm Kuzco. I think I'm more like Pacha. I'm more the friend that will help you on your journey.

[6:10] Jan Svendsen: You are. What do you most give a damn about today? There's a lot to give a damn about in the world, but I will talk about like today.

[6:17] Kaila Mullady: Yeah. The thing that I really give a damn about and you'll see this align with my work. You know, we can't do everything. We can't all save the polar bears. We can't all, you know, get trash off of Mount Everest. But working with kids and ensuring that the next generation are empowered to make decisions, to have hard conversations, to listen to other people empathetically and not be afraid to bring their voice and their vision to the table is huge for me. You know, I think that everybody in this world, in their stories, their true personal stories, you don't have to make anything up and there's gems and there's wisdom and knowledge in it. So for me, I truly give a damn to make sure that, you know, women especially, that you could come to the table and you're not afraid to share your ideas and your voice and your story because that is truly what makes any world, any community or any organization a better place is when we can all really step up and feel confident enough to share our message.

[7:18] Jan Svendsen: What are you most grateful for today?

[7:20] Kaila Mullady: I am most grateful for life. And I mean that in terms of everything and sometimes even the good and the bad. Right. Like the fact that we have the ability to get up every day and make decisions and change what was maybe something that we've done our whole life to change your habits. I think the brain is a really incredible thing and we have the ability to, no matter what our past was or our background or the environment in which we grew up in, as we get older, we can always make a choice to change that. And, you know, I'm grateful for the environment, for myself, my friends and my family and the work that I do that supports me in that.

[7:59] Jan Svendsen: And what do you think is humanity's most redeeming quality?

[8:03] Kaila Mullady: Deep question. I mean, kindness and love, you know, even in even in the times that feels like we are in the most despair or the times that we are going through tragedy or people around us are going through tragedy, the ability for one person to show kindness through anything. I think that that is a very human thing. Kindness and joy and love and laughter are very human things. You see it all across the globe. I've gone to countries where I don't speak the language. They don't speak my language. But by just simply smiling, making eye contact and connecting with people, you can have a connection with somebody is the most beautiful thing I think that we have as humans.

[8:44] Jan Svendsen: And now, everybody, you see why I wanted this woman on my podcast today. Let's start at the very beginning here. Tell us about young Kaila and how did she become the world champ in beatboxing? What's your story?

[8:56] Kaila Mullady: Yeah, weird. I was a young gal from Long Island growing up was a pretty turbulent time, I would say for myself. I was definitely a type of kid that, as I do now, have a lot of energy. If you think that 32 year old Kaila has energy, imagine six year old Kaila who literally climbed on everything. My mom used to be so annoyed at me because every single day she would come home for work and all of the pots and pans would be all over the ground because I was making drums out of it. Or I remember I used to pull all the tissues from tissue boxes and put rubber bands around them and make little like guitars and stuff. And I was constantly singing and making noise. And so music was always a part of me in my young life.

There was a lot of just turbulence around me. My dad is a, you know, had a lot of alcoholism. He still does. My parents were going through a not great divorce. So there was a lot of, I think, pain around me and there was a lot of stress. And for me, I kind of took it on myself and kind of developed this philosophy as a young age to kind of be a lighthouse for other people. I think at that point, as we learn when we're younger, it doesn't come from a good place. It came from a pretty traumatic place of trying to make sure that the household was a good vibes. But I really learned from that that, you know, I would be going to school and being this class clown. But back at home, things were not very good.

So for me, I learned at a very young age that you don't know what people are going through. So why not try to be that lighthouse for them? Why can't we be the light that can kind of shine in the darkness for people? And as a way to not, you know, pass that, pass that hurt, you know, I have two older brothers. I'm the youngest. So I had a lot of, you know, wedgies and noogies and all that things that older brothers do to you. And, you know, for me, it was like there was no one to pass it to. I wasn't going to pass that to my cousins. So, yeah, at a young age, I kind of realized like passing energy or passing hurt in that way doesn't help anything. It just perpetuates it. And how do we take that and we use that for good?

And how can we be there for other people? And then through that, I've learned to be there for myself. But definitely at a young age, you know, I had an uncle that gave me a guitar because the tissue box guitars weren't really working anymore. And my family saw that I was really connected to music in that way. So they gave me a guitar. And for me, that was the most beautiful way to express myself. I wasn't, as I said, I was kind of class clown. So I didn't know how to tell people what I was going through or kind of this pain that I had. But being able to play it through guitar and kind of get it out that way and be able to tell people what was going on in a way that I wasn't comfortable when I was a kid, I was not comfortable using my voice in any way, telling people what was going on.

And also just singing was not a thing for me. I had a very bad show choir audition when I was in sixth grade where, you know, it was like your chorus for school. And I was so ready to do this. I did it, you know, I think I did Colors of the Wind by Pocahontas was my audition song. And I did this for my mom. I did it for my stuffed animals. I did it for my neighbors. I was ready to go in and be like captain of the show choir. That wasn't even a position.

[12:16] Kaila Mullady: I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me on the Broadway Gives Back Podcast.

[12:46] Kaila Mullady: As a beatboxer and performer, I’ve always believed in the power of voice, not just in the literal sense but also in terms of self-expression and mental health.

[13:16] Kaila Mullady: My journey began when I realized how beatboxing could be a tool for empowerment. It’s not just about making sounds; it’s about finding your voice and using it to connect with others.

[13:46] Kaila Mullady: I founded The Academy of Noise to inspire young people to discover their own voices. We focus on mental health fitness through creative expression, which is so important in today’s world.

[14:16] Kaila Mullady: We offer workshops and programs that teach beatboxing, but we also delve into topics like self-esteem, confidence, and emotional well-being.

[14:36] Kaila Mullady: It’s incredible to see how these young people transform when they find their voice. They become more confident and willing to express themselves in ways they never thought possible.

[14:51] Kaila Mullady: I believe that everyone has a unique story to tell, and it’s crucial that we create spaces where those stories can be shared and celebrated.

[15:11] Kaila Mullady: Through beatboxing, we can break down barriers and connect with each other on a deeper level. It’s a universal language that transcends words.

[15:31] Kaila Mullady: I’ve seen firsthand how music and rhythm can uplift spirits and foster community. It’s a beautiful thing to witness.

[15:41] Kaila Mullady: Mental health is often stigmatized, especially among young people. By using creative outlets like beatboxing, we can open up conversations and encourage them to seek help when needed.

[15:51] Kaila Mullady: I’m passionate about making mental health resources accessible to everyone, and I think the arts can play a significant role in that.

[16:11] Kaila Mullady: I also collaborate with other organizations that focus on mental health advocacy, and it’s amazing to see how we can amplify each other’s efforts.

[16:31] Kaila Mullady: The response from the community has been overwhelmingly positive. Young people are eager to engage and learn, and it’s inspiring to see them take charge of their mental health.

[16:51] Kaila Mullady: I think it’s important for us as artists to use our platforms to advocate for causes we believe in. It’s our responsibility to give back and uplift others.

[17:11] Kaila Mullady: I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredible mentors who have guided me along the way, and I hope to do the same for the next generation.

[17:31] Kaila Mullady: It’s all about creating a ripple effect of positivity and support. When we lift each other up, we all rise together.

[17:51] Kaila Mullady: I encourage everyone to find their own way to give back, whether it’s through volunteering, mentorship, or simply being there for someone in need.

[18:11] Kaila Mullady: Every little bit helps, and we all have the power to make a difference in someone’s life.

[18:31] Kaila Mullady: I’m excited to see where this journey takes me and how I can continue to inspire others through my work.

[18:59] Kaila Mullady: Thank you for allowing me to share my story and the mission of The Academy of Noise.

[19:19] Kaila Mullady: I hope it encourages others to find their voice and use it for good.

[19:47] Kaila Mullady: Together, we can create a world where everyone feels empowered to express themselves and seek help when they need it.

[20:15] Kaila Mullady: I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of this conversation and to connect with all of you.

[20:43] Kaila Mullady: Let’s keep the momentum going and continue to support one another in our journeys.

[21:03] Kaila Mullady: Thank you again for having me on the podcast.

[21:23] Kaila Mullady: I look forward to seeing how we can all contribute to making a positive impact in our communities.

[21:51] Kaila Mullady: Remember, your voice matters, and you have the power to make a difference.

[22:19] Kaila Mullady: Let’s keep spreading love and positivity through the arts and beyond.

[22:47] Kaila Mullady: I’m excited for what’s to come and can’t wait to share more about my journey with all of you.

[23:17] Kaila Mullady: Thank you for listening, and let’s keep the conversation going.

[23:47] Kaila Mullady: Together, we can create a brighter future for everyone.

[24:15] Kaila Mullady: Take care, and I hope to connect with you all soon!

[24:32] Kaila Mullady: And also, what does that do for people who are non-binary or trans people, right? It's very outdated. It really puts this glass ceiling on what I think of, and sometimes I've seen, especially back in the day, whereas let's say you're a woman in another country and you want to beatbox battle, but there's only two women. One, you're not sparring with the best, so you don't get that practice. And two, if one of them decides they don't want to battle, you just can't battle, right? So the sexism is still pretty bad now in beatboxing, but 10 years ago, it was crazy. It was really wild. So maybe I'm around like 20 now. I've gotten more, you know, 20, I'm getting more experienced street performing and doing open mic nights, and me and Kid are performing.

I decide I'm going to try to go into the American Beatbox Champs because I have this chance to do it here, you know, this privilege. So I tried out. I didn't make it my first year, but in 2013, I made it as the top 16, so one of the 16 people in the whole country that got to battle. And people were telling me, a lot of the guys were telling me like, oh, don't feel bad if you're not going to make it in. You know, yeah, girls can battle, but it doesn't happen. No girl, you know, like, kind of being like, thinking that they're helping me, but being like, oh, that's cute that you're trying. Or they would tell me in the beginning, they're like, you know, once I made it in the battle, they were like, oh, Kaila, that's so cool.

You made it in the battle. But what are you going to do when you go up against someone fast? I'd be like, what? What do you mean? They're like, literally would say this to me. They're like, well, you know, it's physically impossible. These are real words that multiple people said to me. You know, it's physically impossible for a girl to beatbox fast. And I'd be like, what? And they're like, yeah, you know, it's like, it's impossible for. It's just physically impossible, Kaila, like, I think it's because you wear a bra. Like, I don't know. I think the wire cuts in, right? Or they'd be like, oh, my God. Oh, Kaila. Okay. So maybe you're not going to go up against the guy who beatboxes fast, but what are you going to do when the low notes come?

Like, duh, Kaila, like, girls can't ever do low notes. It's physically impossible. Like, they can never be like. Like, it's just impossible, Kaila. I think it's because you have a period, like, I don't know, someone like the moon and the waves. It's a 30-day cycle. Like, it was really ridiculous stuff. So that was kind of like the energy of me coming into the beatboxing world. And yeah, in 2013, I had my first beatbox battle. And of course, when I got there, I was so nervous. The thoughts of like, oh, my God, what if this is like sixth grade show choir audition all over again? Like, what if I mess this up? And of course, like, it was probably a story that I was telling myself. And yeah, I was putting this pressure on me.

But I had this like extra pressure of if I do good, then people can use this video to show that like, the rest of the world should not be like segregated in this way. But if I do bad, oh, Kaila, everyone's going to use this as a way to say, see, this is why we do it. So I had like, it didn't feel like me just stepping up to battle. And I felt that way through my whole battling career. It was like, I couldn't just show up on the stage as Kaila Mullady. It was like Kaila Mullady and every other woman that ever wanted to battle. It always felt like that pressure was on me. And that's not correct. But that's what I was the story that I was telling myself in my head. So yeah, in 2013, I went to my first battle, I was like, felt like leaving and like running away, of course.

And I ended up I won only one battle that year. But in by winning that first battle, I became the first girl to ever beat a guy on a national competition stage. And that for me was like, oh my God, this is amazing. There was a lot through my battling career that was a little crazy. And you know, obstacles that I had to deal with and thoughts and comments from people around the world. I got a lot of criticism to the point where people had to write articles in the beatboxing world, like literally, like just called like, stop the Kaila hate, because people were just did not like that I was a woman, especially when I went into the international scene. I didn't like that I was coming into those spaces and, you know, being on the same stage as guys.

And so I had to deal with a lot. And I think that what that taught me more than anything was like, resilient, what do I go resilience, breaking the ceiling? Yeah, yeah. And also, you know, one thing that I did that, I'm glad that it happened, but it will never happen again was, I, you know, people would come up to me. And as I said, people would be like, well, girls can't do this. And I'd be like, Oh, yeah. And my ego would get so wrapped in it, that for months, I would go and train that sound, right? And then I would come back and be like, see, remember that thing that you said that girls can do? Well, I'm doing it. So can you just admit that, like, maybe you were, you know, just naive, or like, you made a mistake.

And you could just welcome me and treat me as like an equal with everybody, right? And it always was like, Oh, no, no, wait, wait a minute. Well, before we do that, what about this and this? And originally, when I started to battle, I was doing beat rhyming stuff. So adding that singing and that rapping when I got comfortable, and I was also doing a lot of theatrical stuff. So my, I would battle somebody and kind of have like a story attached to it or some sort of bit right. And the more that I was letting people judgments get into my head, the more that I started to like stray from that. And I was just doing what other people what these other guys were doing and trying to prove myself in that way.

I started working with this group, this hip hop improv group called North Coast. That's incredible. They still perform to this day, I got to be like a beatboxer and do improv. And I was like, Oh my god, this is crazy. And I started to go down that round more and just create my own songs. And while that time was very tough for me, I'm glad that it happened. Because I needed that to be like, actually, why am I listening to other people? That's not what I want to do at all. I've always wanted to go down this path. And in that I really embrace my own individuality and originality and started to get back into my like beatboxing and theater roots. And that's actually at that point to my mentor, Kid Lucky, he introduced me to Shockwave.

I was wondering where the connection was gonna come in. Thank you. Yeah. So you know, me and Shockwave, Kid Lucky was like both of our mentors in that way. And you know, I had always heard the legend of Freestyle Love Supreme. But by the time I was doing improv and beatboxing in more theatrical way, you know, they weren't really doing FLS anymore. They were probably in the heights and everybody was doing their own shows. And so I have never seen them before. But I always heard like the legend of them and what they did. And yeah, I mean, cut to years later back in 2019. You know, Shockwave and I would never really perform together, but we became each other's like covers because there wasn't really any other beatboxers doing improv or theater in that way.

So Shockwave would always hit me up and be like, hey, can you do this show for me? I got to do this. And I'd be like, yeah, can you do this? But we never really got to perform together in that way. And then in 2019, I was in Vancouver, you know, doing a performance. I remember I was eating a salmon burger. And as you do in Vancouver, right? And I was like, looking at the water and all this. And Shockwave, Chris called me. And he just happened to, you know, call me and was like, hey, what are you doing this fall? And I was like, I don't know. I don't know. I might be here or there. And he's like, cool, cool. Do you want to come to Broadway? And I was like, what? I remember like me and the seagull looking at each other like this.

The seagull's like, did he just say Broadway? And I was like, I think he just said Broadway. And then yeah, it was like very quick after that. A month later, we had maybe three days of rehearsal for a show with no script that has no flow. And then they, you know, Anissa and I were the first new members to be brought in in 20 years. And also the first ladies to be brought in. And I remember you guys so well. Yeah, we had three days to go. And then they just kind of kicked us out on stage and was like, go ahead. Do your thing. You got to learn by failing, which I think is a really beautiful, beautiful thing to do, you know?

[32:33] Jan Svendsen: Yeah, except you didn't fail. Yes. So and then you got a Tony award, Freestyle Love Supreme got a Tony, special Tony that year. So yes, things change. I'm sitting here listening to you. And I'm feeling like there needs to be a Netflix special about just you. Like I could totally see it. I want to produce it. But we're in girl. We're in. Yeah. Yeah. You know, just going back to Freestyle Love Supreme for a second. I'm close with all your fellow cast mates and crew. And one of the things that's so interesting about FLS right now is the work you're doing, or they're doing, all of you are doing with regard to the brain and mental health and emotional health. Can you talk about that a little bit?

I know that that's like Anthony's big thing. But yeah, you guys are all like supporting it and, and working on it. So just because the whole thing about improv, just for myself, I think, let's say my 50th birthday, I decided I'm going to get into improv. And I've never. So I went away to a month long improv set camp in the summer for my 50th birthday. And it was amazing. And I didn't realize but my whole life in a way had been built around the philosophies of improv about the idea of saying yes and and collaborating and being trying to be present in the moment. But that camp experience, I was the only person who was not a professional. And but it changed my life. And it was so amazing. So I do think that improv is so beneficial for somebody's mental health and emotional health. And for healing and for all the reasons that we've been talking about. Talk about the journey with Freestyle Love Supreme and your and your focus on mental health.

[34:09] Kaila Mullady: Yeah. So I really believe that improv is just continued adult education. Because truly, I mean, a lot of the times adults need it more than kids do, right? I mean, that was true for me, right? Yeah. Kids talk to each other so freely, you get to the playground, they're like, you want to be friends? They say yes, and then you go. As we get older, it's so much harder to make friends with people, right? Like belonging and friendships is a real, like pandemic in itself, that as you get older, you lose the amount of friends that you have. And the it's there's a direct link between even just the amount of close people that you have in your life as you're older to you know, how healthy you are, how old you can live and all these things, right?

So I believe and what we've seen is improv really helps us break out of these patterns that we have, right? So when you're improvising, you know, we have worked with Dr. Charles Lim out in California, and they've put improvisers in MRI machines. And what they found was, there's two parts of the brain that light up. Right? So when we are in kind of this fight or flight, that is the front part of our brain lighting up, right? This is the thing that is like the judging side of our brain. It's like, why did I wear this today? You know, for women, it's the idea that like, we shouldn't speak up around men. Um, you know, it's the thing of, I shouldn't ask for a raise. This idea is stupid. Why am I saying this?

Oh my God, what I just said was so weird. Nobody's gonna like me. So I'm just gonna be quiet, right? And that is the part of the brain that we've needed back in the day, right? Because you needed to be in kind of like, if the lion comes, we have to be ready to run or do these things. But now it's the thing that really can hold us back. And what we found was, when you are improvising, a different side of your brain lights up that is really your flow center. So it doesn't mean improvising in the way that FLS does when you're on stage and making stuff up. But if you're in a state of flow and doing something that you like, that could be crocheting, it could be hanging out with your kids, it could be waxing your car, golfing, whatever it is, when we are in these states of playing and joyfulness and doing something that we like to do, a side of your brain lights up that that judging part of your brain and this side cannot be happening at the same time, right?

So the more that we are playing, the more that we are enjoying ourselves, the more that we are activating this one, it's allowing your brain to light that side up. So now this judgment side of your brain can't happen anymore. But two, it actually helps the way that you solve problems. Right? I think in terms of

[36:49] Kaila Mullady: Both improv and what, you know, Freestyle Plus is doing and FLS. And also what I'm doing with the Academy of Noise, right? You don't have to become an artist, but to be able to get creative helps your creative thinking brain. You know, in schools, unfortunately, what's happening right now across the entire country is that the first things that get cut from any budget are your music or your arts enrichment programs. And of course, STEM is important. We need science and engineering and technology and mathematics, right? But we need arts and music as well. Because arts and music allow us to, one, express ourselves. Two, it allows us to figure out who we are and how we are different and how we are individuals, right?

I mean, even in your basic kindergarten art class, let's say it's your first day ever that you're in an art class, right? And if the only challenge of the day is your teacher's like, okay, kids, so the only thing we got to do today is you have a big box of crayons in front of you and a white sheet of paper. And all I want you to do is take your favorite color and just fill in that whole sheet of paper, right? Seems simple enough as it is, right? All they're doing is picking a favorite color. But in that class, when everybody goes around and shows each other their papers, that's the first time where we can be like, oh my god, wait, I like blue, but oh, your favorite color is purple. And Ty's favorite color is green.

And Denise's favorite color is orange. Oh, wait, we're allowed to have different ideas. I'm allowed to be different than you. And that's okay. And we can all live in a world in which we like different colors, right? But we could still be together. And if we want people who can solve problems, right? I think that schools a lot of the times what we see in education is like, we think that the people in STEM are the people solving the problems. Well, you have to be able to generate ideas, right? And that's what improv does. That's what these arts do. It's how can you generate these ideas? How can you have this creative mind to actually solve problems? And to think of that as playing and to be creative and be able to come up with these new ideas is playful.

You need to have that improv side. And then, you know, with beatboxing, you need to be brave enough to bring those ideas to the forefront and speak those ideas out loud. A lot of the work that I do now with, you know, beatboxing, whether it be for speech therapy, or whether that, you know, kind of beatboxing or songwriting, or storytelling work that we do at the Academy of Noise, is how do you actually confidently enough practice those leadership qualities, those public speaking qualities? We say that the first step to speaking up is making a sound, right? If I can make somebody confident enough to walk in a room and be like, whoop, whoop, or you know, if you're a young lady, it's a lot easier to say no, then, right?

So the beautiful thing about whether it's beatboxing, whether it's improv, is that you don't need anything else. Everything that you have is within us. You don't need fancy technology. You don't need all these gizmos and gadgets. You have the power to create an entire show just using your imagination. If it's improv, you could become any instrument you want with beatboxing. And what I found and what I'm really passionate about is when I first started to become a teaching artist when I was 19 years old and doing work in New York City, the only way that we were getting any arts programs in schools is we would go to schools and schools would say, we don't have any arts and music in Richmond, especially around New York City.

You know, I was working in Brooklyn and Queens and Manhattan. And if I worked with 20 kids after school that had a beatboxing program, they were the 20 kids out of 500 kids that got any sort of music program. So I would go to schools and they'd say, well, we don't have money to buy drum sets or trumpets or any of this. And I said, you don't need to do that. If you could just bring a beatboxer into your school, I will teach the kids how to become the drum set and the trumpet or the basses with their voice. And then we could still teach them music theory or teach them all these things. And I think that is the incredible power of humans, right? Whether it's improv and you're just using your body or your imagination or your words, whether it's beatboxing, humans are capable of incredible, incredible things.

And I think as we move into this world where there's AI technology and self-driving cars and, you know, musicians can auto-tune their voices or they can lip-sync on stage is we think that we need so many outside resources to create the show that we want or to create the program that we want. But we really don't. We just need the confidence and the imagination to say, well, what do I have in my heart, in my brain, in my soul? And how can I use that as a way to connect people and bring them together? So it's really incredible to, you know, whether it's through Freestyle Plus, where we're bringing improv training and improv mindset to, you know, people or huge corporations, you know, working with engineers at Google that are incredibly smart, but are having a hard time connecting as a team because they don't have the confidence to just kind of share themselves authentically.

Or whether it's through the Academy of Noise, where we're working in schools to help kids, you know, practice speaking and making sounds in front of each other. Or whether it's writing a song, how can we, you know, talk about, a lot of these kids want to, they're seeing what's going on in the world and they need a safe space to talk about it. And when you put it in the premise of, well, we're writing a song about what's going on in your school or what's going on in your lives, like me when I was young and was too afraid to say what was going on, but I could put it in a monologue or I could put it in a song because it, well, it's not happening to me. I'm just speaking about this idea at large.

A friend of mine. Yeah. Yeah, you know, my friend over here is having these problems. Exactly. That's what's going to make the leaders of the world of tomorrow and in the next 20 years, a more harmonious and joyous and empathetic place, right? So I think that human beings are incredible. People could do backflips, you know, people are breakdancing and getting into the Olympics. People are making sounds that have never ever been done before. And people are creating whole shows. I mean, you've seen FLS. Our stage was there's no props. It was, you know, five chairs in the band and you're able to create so much just by using yourself and what you have and what you bring to the table. And I think that's a really beautiful thing.

And I think that's very important to empower people and tell them that you are enough. You don't need anything else to share yourself, share your ideas and share your stories. And with that, I think the world will become a very different place.

[43:21] Jan Svendsen: So playing right off of that and saying yes and wonder what advice would you give to the listeners about becoming what I like to call everyday philanthropists or everyday activists to make the world a better place? What would your advice be?

[43:31] Kaila Mullady: Well, one, I think it's what are you passionate about? What is that thing that you like? As I said before, some people are extremely passionate about the environment. Some people are really passionate about working with youth. Some people are really passionate about working with elderly people or changing the face of technology or making businesses more diverse. I think the first thing is things in life don't feel like work when you're doing this thing that you like. So what is something that you're interested in? And then two, that your unique perspective is so needed. It's so needed. Don't try to be like what other people are. It's like when I was in the beatboxing battle world, when I was trying to do what everybody else was doing, I was not being successful and I did not feel good.

But the second that I realized that let me just do it my way. That's what's needed in a boardroom or that's what's needed in a table. And three, that literally it doesn't have to be so large scale. If you are passionate about making a change, you don't have to make that change be a million people right away. Simply by becoming that thing that you want to be for one person in your community or your neighbor picking up a piece of trash every day. Those little things are what will make a difference in the long run. You asked me before about a movie quote or something. I'm not good at quotes, but one thing that did change me a lot when I was in my young 20s was the quote, we don't find ourselves, we create ourselves.

These people that we want to be, it's not like we need to do this eat, pray, love trip. And we're going to go to Thailand and we're going to look at an elephant or look at the ocean and all of a sudden, ding, this light bulb goes off in our mind. And all of a sudden, this person that we've been waiting to become is just like here now. That doesn't happen. These people, these things that we want to do, you could create that. You could be that. But just start by writing down something that you think would be fun, you know, we would be fun to do or would make you happy. I love this question too, because I think for me, the idea of a champion, right? Like people always say, oh, we're a beatbox champion.

And this idea of a champion is always around my life. But I think that winning things doesn't make you a champion. To be a champion of something, right? Like I am a champion for the youth and leadership and public speaking. I think that that is what makes this world a better place. And that's what brings people value is how you can give back. So yeah, I think just, you know, start small, start on a small scale, even if you only are affecting one person, that person that's changing their whole life. And then if it works well, and you're excited about it, bring it to another person. And that's the kind of change that will really create a ripple effect in the world, I believe.

[46:20] Jan Svendsen: So just to use a few words that used here in this last hour, you truly are Kaila, a lighthouse for so many people and helping sort of shine a light on their authentic selves. And I love the fact that you are a champion for humanity, because you really are. So thank you for everything you do. And thank you so much for being part of Broadway Gives Back podcast. And I really do think we're going to create a Netflix special for you.

[46:43] Kaila Mullady: So anyway, we'll do it. Final words or final beatboxing or final anything you want to do. Go.

[46:52] Kaila Mullady: Yeah, yeah. Well, one, thank you so much. It's really amazing to meet somebody else that is as inspiring and doing work in their field. But yeah, two, I think, you know, moving forward, if people want to get into the arts or in support in any way, you know, check out the Academy of Noise. We are bringing arts programming to people all over the world. You know, whether that be Africa or in Europe or in Mexico or in the US. It's a really amazing program.

[47:31] Kaila Mullady: Come on. You got to shine.

[47:37] Kaila Mullady: Don't be afraid. No fright.

[47:41] Kaila Mullady: You know, you really got to go.

[47:46] Kaila Mullady: You got to trust.

[47:49] Kaila Mullady: Heart and soul.

[47:52] Jan Svendsen: I love you, Kaila.

[48:07] Kaila Mullady: Thank you.

[48:07] Jan Svendsen: I love you. You're the best.

[48:09] Kaila Mullady: Thank you, my friend.

[48:10] Jan Svendsen: Thank you.

[48:14] Jan Svendsen: Thanks for listening to this episode of the Broadway Gives Back podcast. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and rate Broadway Gives Back wherever you stream your podcasts. You can also follow me on Facebook at Jan Friedlander Weiss and on Instagram at Jan For Good. Broadway Gives Back is part of the Broadway Podcast Network, produced by Dori Berenstein, Alan Seals, Kimberly Garris, along with her team of amazing collaborators and wonderful humans. To learn more about this podcast and other Broadway podcasts, visit bpn.fm slash Broadway Gives Back.