PRODUCER TO KNOW: KAYLA RODGERS
KAYLA RODGERS
Kayla Rodgers is a Los Angeles-based producer, journalist, and Founder of KSK Productions, LLC. Kayla has had many opportunities to produce for companies like CNN and CBS and recently produced the CNN documentary Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street, recounting the racist massacre of the affluent renaissance black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kayla’s work is committed to always tell and produce diverse stories that motivate, encourage and inspire individuals internationally.
SHEER: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
KAYLA RODGERS: I’m from a city called Rancho Cucamonga, originally. It’s in the movie Friday it’s a real place! It was predominantly Caucasian when I was growing up but it’s gotten more diverse now. Being aware of my identity as a black woman was always something that I had to keep in mind. I think you’re woke in a different way when you’re in an environment where you’re the minority. You look at the world in a way where it forces you to acknowledge things that make you more aware of yourself.
I was also raised in a household to love everybody, no matter their gender or nationality, and I know that’s very rare with my parents being Baby Boomers. And that’s what brought me to SHEER. My parents said love everybody no matter their culture, so being apart of this movement working towards equality for women and people of color is important.
SHEER: What led you to pursue a career in media and journalism?
KR: I’ve been in entertainment and acting since I was 5 years old. I was scouted after doing plays, I loved theater. I used to do a lot of TV shows and commercials growing up and just launched my career in Screen Actors Guild. I took a break in high school of course, I wanted to be cool and do other things and get out of the arts. It found me back in college where I pursued journalism because I loved telling stories. And that’s the root of everything in entertainment, telling a good story. That’s what grew my passion. If you can tell a good story then you’re on your way no matter what you want to do. From there you can build a film, you can build a commercial or a TV show, or a play. That’s always been my goal to tell people’s stories and to motivate and encourage and inspire people in a positive way.
“I was also raised in a household to love everybody, no matter their gender or nationality, and I know that’s very rare with my parents being Baby Boomers. And that’s what brought me to SHEER. My parents said love everybody no matter their culture, so being apart of this movement working towards equality for women and people of color is important. ”
SHEER: How do you put your own spin and unique perspective on reporting the stories you encounter?
KR: I think we’ve gotten away from traditional journalism, let’s just tell the facts. Let people tell their story. Let them tell you how they’re feeling and what’s going on and don’t question that. If you do question it, have a fact to back it up. Always include the 5Ws and the 1 H (The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How) and dig deep and ask the questions that no one else wants to ask. Don’t be afraid to ask those questions because that’s what everyone else is thinking about and that’s the real story we want. Not surface level all the time like on the red carpet people are asking “What are you wearing?,” but we know they look great and we want to know more about that person. “What’s your next project and why?,” for example. So always going deeper than the surface.
SHEER: Love that you have your own production company, KSK Productions! What led you to venture out on your own and what was that launch process like?
KR: This is still a baby and right now we have an initiative going on that will eventually become a branch of KSK Productions as an organization to help young black women and women of color to have reading materials that inspire them to want to read. I never used to like to read growing up. I’m also starting to read over people’s scripts and help give them the tools they need to create these projects.
You don’t want to be held by any bounds when you’re creating something or create any glass ceilings that tell yourself this is the highest you can go. Having something for yourself to help you create has been my passion. But whew, it is rough! When you’re starting a company of any kind after the first 5 years you’re like I don’t know I may just give up, but no let me just keep going. So far, it’s been very rewarding though and 4EverKayla is something I still do with hosting and another brand within KSK Productions. Last year we did a wonderful documentary about mental health for black men. So I think it’s good to have a production company or own a business and be able to be your own leader as a creative. To inspire others and not listen to anyone tell you what you can and cannot do.
SHEER: How is your work ensuring diverse perspectives both on screen and behind the scenes in media? And how do you approach any lack of diversity you face on your career journey?
KR: I hire everybody and I like working with everyone across all cultures and backgrounds. Latinos have been on my team and Asians and white folks and non-binary and LGBTQ folks have been on my team. I look at everyone as a human and getting the work done is getting the work done. I look for talent. That isn’t something we have quite yet established in Hollywood, and Hollywood is still evolving in hiring someone for talent and not just their race or gender.
With the project I’m currently on now, I’m the only black woman and there are 30 people on the project. We still have a long way to go, and it’s not that people envisioned it this way, but you can see the effects of systemic racism that still exist in Hollywood. These people have had the opportunities we haven’t had over the last 10, 20, years to be present at a certain level to hire and bring in people of color. But right now we still have to train underrepresented groups and we haven’t had these opportunities for diversity to even exist until now.
Always find your value at the beginning of a project, especially when you’re a minority. Just find your value and your footing when you’re there. For the CNN documentary Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street, that was a predominantly black crew but when you have editors who don’t look like us trying to tell us how someone needs to say something or how you want the script to go you have to put your foot down and say that’s not how black people would talk or that’s not how Big Momma would say it. Showing our value in those settings of Hollywood. If you’re non-binary, let people know how something needs to be said or addressed. That’s the importance of diversity and finding your footing in Hollywood or even as a creative. Everyone has value and there is space for everyone at the table because there are very few people like us and minorities at the table at the moment. When it seems like we’re in a rat race, there is plenty of space at the table for our stories. Everyone has a story to tell. Diversity is just so important.
With the LGTBQ community, we don’t see a lot of people in producer or director roles but moreso as hair stylists or makeup artists on sets even since I was acting growing up. And there are stories to be told and real people behind these stories, same with women. So seeing more diverse groups in leadership positions and taken more seriously in Hollywood is the work that still needs to be done.
“With the project I’m currently on now, I’m the only black woman and there are 30 people on the project. We still have a long way to go, and it’s not that people envisioned it this way, but you can see the effects of systemic racism that still exist in Hollywood.”
SHEER: What advice do you have for creators of color looking to break into media and diversify the art of storytelling and reporting?
KR: The road will be rough and there are no right answers. Even though people say “I wouldn’t do this or I wouldn’t do that,” you are writing your own story and your own journey. I always tell people, just know what your end goal is and what you ultimately want to do. And don’t be shy about it. If you want to be Oprah, then you can get there. There’s no rush to get there, but as long as you know that’s the direction you want to go in, you will find yourself in interesting places where doors will open. Just being aligned with your ultimate purpose in life is how you find your way in life and reaching that goal. You can’t go away from your purpose.
Also, I think getting an undergraduate education is very important for people of color. It is very very very very important to get that first degree. They don’t have schools anymore where you can just do a two year program and learn how to write. You have AP writing style or how to navigate teleprompters, and left-handed scriptwriting in non-scripted television, how to do a storyboard, or editing on AVID are taught in college now so I think it’s a benefit. You don’t have to go to the biggest university that exists, but go where you can be informed because they still hold us as people of color to a higher standard whether admitted or not. The more you know how to do will help you break down those doors even faster. That’s my recommendation and I know not everyone is for higher education but your journey may be a little bit harder by not getting your education at some point. Because then they will find a reason to not hire you.
Love yourself and continue to walk on your path. You’re going to get a lot of nasty remarks, everyone gets them. You’re fat, you’re skinny, you’re ugly. Love yourself and know you’re on this path for yourself. You don’t owe anybody else an explanation, not even your mother. I left CNN, a secure corporate job with money and benefits, to pursue film and directing and what God called me to do. Even my parents are like, we don’t know if Kayla will ever get a real job haha.
“I look at everyone as a human and getting the work done is getting the work done. I look for talent. That isn’t something we have quite yet established in Hollywood, and Hollywood is still evolving in hiring someone for talent and not just their race or gender.”
SHEER: What is the lasting impact you hope your work and KSK Productions have on the world?
KR: I hope people get the stories that they want. With Black Wall Street, no one ever talked to the survivors who lived that tragedy, and their family members. They never talked to the mayor. This goes back to good storytelling and journalism, asking the questions no one else wants to ask. The world can get a real look into what people thought were conspiracy theories. Just always wanting to inspire people and letting them be able to hear the truth somehow. Ultimately, I would like to get into more scripted television to tell stories but I feel like that starts with documentaries and journalism. The history is still in the stories. You can’t have an Oscar movie or a James Bond film that takes place in India and you didn’t take the time to do the research on what India is like. Someone will watch that and say but that’s not what really happens. Finding the truth in everything and being able to shed light on people through these projects that we were inspired by.
My slogan at KSK Productions is “We create projects that encourage, motivate, and inspire.” I don’t ever want to work on projects that beat people down. I want there to always be a light at the end of the tunnel of the stories that I tell. The motivation for the story of Dreamland, is that people are on the verge of receiving reparations. That’s fulfilling to me. That because of a story I helped tell, there is relief.