Women’s Leadership Program alum, Kyra Armstrong is now in her second year as a graduate student at Columbia University. She graduated in 2020 from The George Washington University with a degree in Theatre and French. I had the opportunity to chat with her over zoom and we talked about what her experience was like in WLP as well as what she has been up to since finishing the program.
I asked Kyra if she could recall her takeaways from the Women’s Leadership Program and if she had any specific memories she’d like to share with me. Kyra told me she was introduced to two of her closest friends through the program whom she is still very good friends with today. In terms of academics, she loved that she had the opportunity to share a learning environment with so many women who weren’t afraid to be themselves.
“WLP set me up to be where I am today – it helped me feel like my voice mattered and allowed me to see so many women who knew that their voices mattered as well.” – Kyra Armstrong
Kyra participated in theatre all throughout high school and came to GW knowing she wanted to get a degree in it. She hoped GW would allow her to explore what her options could be within the industry. To further her knowledge, Kyra had various theatre-related internships throughout her four years at GW.
In the summer of 2019, Kyra interned at Wicked on Broadway. She worked with their stage management team but the internship also allowed her to shadow someone in every department of the show. Kyra also interned at the Kennedy Center during her senior year with the production management department. She said her position gave her a slightly different perspective than what she had learned through her experience working with the Wicked stage management team.
Kyra had the thought to go to graduate school during her internship with Wicked. After learning about the different paths she could go down in the industry and after shadowing many people during her time with the Broadway show, she found that furthering her studies in theatre, specifically producing, could be the new route for her. After getting connected to one of the department heads of Columbia’s theatre program, Kyra applied to the school and is now on track to get a Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre management and producing.
I asked Kyra what career she is interested in honing in on after graduation and while she is still exploring her options, she is very passionate about cultivating equity, diversity, inclusion, and acceptability within the theatre industry. She knows she wants to have a leadership position focused on working to make the industry better for everyone and I can’t wait to see all that she accomplishes in her future career.