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CEDAR CITY — When 11-year-old Kailey Gilbert hears the words “Let’s play,” it means something a little different than most kids her age.
As a featured performer for the Utah Shakespeare Festival’s “Scottish Night” Greenshow, this young Cedar City resident is all smiles as she sings, dances and plays her violin in front of spectators from around the world.
Singing and humming before she was speaking sentences, Kailey always loved music and performing for family members. Putting her in a local pageant at the age of 2, parents Keith and Aimee Gilbert found themselves dragging little Kailey off stage after she refused to leave.
Not wanting to pursue pageantry but seeing their daughter’s natural love for the performing arts, Keith and Aimee thought theater might be a better option for Kailey to explore the spotlight.
They were right.
After auditioning for the Dickens Festival at age 5, Kailey was cast in the ensembles of both "Oliver" and "Scrooge," and was the youngest cast member that year. And just one year later, she was begging her parents for a violin.
At first, the Gilberts weren’t sure what to make of their daughter’s passion for the performing arts. Neither Keith, a vice president of Gilbert Development Corporation and rodeo enthusiast, nor Aimee, with a strong background in soccer and athletics, had any musical background — though they say they are both “really good at playing the radio.”
They soon found, however, that the passion and talent for performing arts was in their blood; it just “skipped a few generations.”
Kailey has always been very intrinsically driven. I rarely have to tell her to practice. She has a mind for music and memorizing and loves what she does...
–Aimee Gilbert, Kailey's mother
The great-great granddaughter of a master violinist who played with the German Symphony before WWII, it was apparent where Kailey’s love of the violin stemmed from. And with two grandmothers having taken part in the Utah Shakespeare Festival (one who was a tart seller for the Greenshow in the late '70s, and another who was the Greenshow Storyteller for 15 years), it seemed that young Kailey was destined to follow in the footsteps of her grandparents.
“Kailey has always been very intrinsically driven,” Aimee said of her daughter. “I rarely have to tell her to practice. She has a mind for music and memorizing and loves what she does. She has a great attitude in all aspects of life. She lives every moment to the fullest and loves sharing her talents with others.”
With her inherent passion for the arts, undeniable talent and drive, and the support of her family, Kailey has added many more performances to her resumé. And working with the USF Playmakers program, headed by Michael Bahr and Josh Stavros, the young actress has landed parts in "The Pirates of Penzance," USF’s "Merry Wives of Windsor" and "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," to name a few. Kailey is living her dream and loving it, hoping someday to perform on Broadway.
Kailey will be performing throughout the season in the USF’s “Scottish Night” Greenshow, which is a free performance outside the Adams Memorial Theater. For information on how to see Kailey and other USF performers, or for tickets to the Festival, go to bard.org.
Arianne Brown is a mother of six who loves running the beautiful trails around Utah. For more articles by her, "like" her Facebook page by searching "A Mother's Write" or visit her blogs, timetofititin.com or thestoriesofyourlife.wordpress.com.
