Today we’d like to introduce you to Sasha Reid.
Hi Sasha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started drawing when I was very young and got a lot of my inspiration from children’s books like Junie B Jones and Shell Silverstein. My mom put me in ballet when I was six years old and I trained pretty rigorously until I was sixteen and then transitioned into musical theatre in high school. My love for dance really helped me develop as a performer and I found a new sense of confidence when I took on the role of Glinda the Good Witch in my High School’s production of the Wizard of Oz. In 2020, I worked with the Kansas Academy of Theatrical Arts where I had the opportunity to create a children’s book called You Are Made of Stars for the students I was working with. Throughout my childhood I often struggled with feeling different and inadequate due to my learning disabilities and creating this book helped me heal my inner child by creating something to help uplift other children who may be feeling the same way. Despite most of my focus throughout my adolescence being on dance and theatre, making You Are Made of Stars reignited my love for children’s books and illustration. I then enrolled in the Kansas City Art Institute where I studied filmmaking and created several experimental films revolving around dance and using choreography of the body to illustrate my personal experiences with neurodivergence and femininity. In 2025, my high school theatre teachers Brian and Leah Miller encouraged me to apply for Music Theatre Heritage’s production internship. Getting the internship opened many doors for me in the Musical Theatre community in Kansas City. I then unexpectedly took on my first professional musical theatre job, playing JennyAnydots in MTH’s production of CATS. Dancing and singing again was so enlightening and exciting and made me realize that my love of performing arts was something I needed to continue to nurture. I am now booked to play Olive Biddle at The Coterie in Pete the Cat this summer.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s certainly not been an easy road. I think being a multidisciplinary artist has come with quite a bit of overwhelm and confusion despite how exciting it can be. I often felt a lot of pressure to choose one thing to pursue. Having dabbled in illustration, dance, theatre and film, it’s been a little stressful trying to decide what moves me most and if I even really have to choose one thing. Now that I’m 25, I’ve learned to embrace it all as I believe my artistic endeavors all come from the same place; my need to express myself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Right now, I work at Music Theatre Heritage as a Patron Services Associate. I run the Box office and House Manage during shows. I’m proud of my work at MTH because it allows me to continue to foster relationships within the arts community in Kansas City. I still illustrate, and I’ve been working with my Dad to market my book You Are Made of Stars. I definitely want to write and illustrate more books in the future, but my current focus is discovering ways I can connect my story with my book in order to reach others who have had similar experiences.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
Just reach out to me! I love to collaborate with friends I’ve made at kCAI and other spaces on creative projects. I’ve recently discovered that collaboration is where I thrive most whether its film, dance, theatre or illustration. My book can also be purchased at https://www.sashalouart.com/pages/you-are-made-of-stars .
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://Instagram.com/sashalouuu.art
- Other: https://www.sashalouart.com/pages/you-are-made-of-stars
