Last week I had the pleasure of speaking with Ayla Kell, who plays driven, mature, and focused gymnast Payson Keeler on ABC Family’s Make It Or Break It. I discovered that, while certain aspects of her personality (such as her close attention to detail) are reflected in her character, there’s a lot more to this talented actress than pulling off impressive floor routines.
Ms. Kell has been dancing since a young age, and her ballet experience helped shape not only her character, but also the lyrical gymnastics routine in the season one finale which she herself helped choreograph. “Dance helped me immensely when I walked onto the set for the first time,” she said.
She made sure that the Make It Or Break It crew had her dance reel when she went in for her first audition: “Look,” she jokingly told me, “I have this in my arsenal. If you’re doing a show where you’re putting people in leotards, you might as well put somebody in who’s been in a leotard their entire life!” MIOBI creator Holly Sorensen “schemed and planned” a way to use Ayla’s dance experience in one way or another on the show … and it worked out great.
Payson’s character is a strong-willed, yet impressionable, young woman. She looks up to her mom Kim, coach Sasha, and current friend and love interest Max. So who does Ayla Kell admire in real life? She follows in Payson’s footsteps by also looking up to her own mother and the mother of one of her good friends, but additionally calls upon performing greats Grace Kelly and Katharine Hepburn as sources of inspiration. In terms of more current actresses, she is quite taken with Michelle Williams: “I very much look up to her and what she’s been able to do with the depth of her career.”
Whether or not MIOBI will be renewed is still uncertain at this point, but should there be a season three Ayla “would really love to see Payson winning Olympic gold. I definitely think that she has the power, the drive … her life is starting to come a little bit more full circle and she’s starting to know who she is and … carry herself in a different way. So I’m hoping to see her continue to grow in who she is and … trust that her gymnastics doesn’t define her personality; her personality defines her gymnastics.” Ayla appreciates the way “everything comes together” on the show — from choreography of the routines, to the music used in episodes, to the design of the leotards — to tell a story on their own, which is then supported by each actresses interpretation of her character’s personality.
Speaking of the music, some of Ayla’s favorite musical artists that have been featured on the show include Priscilla Ahn, whose song “Dream” played at the very end of the finale. She was surprised when she heard it, because despite it being one of her favorite songs, she hadn’t known it would appear on the show. She also loves when MIOBI uses Superchick in its soundtrack, which Ayla used to listen to with her best friend in the car as her dad drove them to school. She thinks that the band “helps keep up the pace of the show with the rhythm that we have.”
There’s a lot to be impressed with in terms of Ayla Kell. One of the final ways she won me over? She has great taste in television shows. I gave her a two-part question, in which I inquired about a) some of her favorite current shows, and b) her favorite shows of all time:
“Right now, I am obsessed with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Absolutely obsessed with it. Archer? Obsessed with it.” Some others on her current favorites list include Parenthood (“a phenomenal show,” in which she greatly admires the acting prowess of Monica Potter); In Plain Sight, and Justified.
Her favorite shows of all time include Tim and Eric; Mr. Show (“David Cross, wherever you are, I adore you, because Arrested Development is also on that list”); Seinfeld (“I can quote any episode; just tell me a location and I can tell you what happened”), and Six Feet Under, where she applauds Peter Krause’s versatility on the small screen. (Hey Ayla, want to write for CliqueClack?) She also admitted to watching a couple guilty pleasure shows, such as “What Not To Wear and Clean House all day long!”
When I asked Ayla how her life has changed as a result of playing Payson Keeler, she had two key things to mention. The first was the fact that she has a job that she loves, which “has made [her] world absolutely wonderful.” The second point was how she is able to have “a unique opportunity to use [her] voice” to make a difference in her community, as a result of reaching out to the enormous number of people who follow her online.
More specifically, she is able to point her fans toward Imagine LA, a Los Angeles-based charity providing housing, jobs, and tutoring for homeless families in Los Angleles — and whose goal is “to get all 80,000 families off the streets … it’s a huge task, but if anyone could do it, it is Jill [Govan Bauman] from Imagine LA. I kid you not!… She is amazing. Not only does she have a dream, but she has the drive and the heart to see it through.”
I was totally floored at how well-rounded Ayla Kell is. Not only is she a great actress, but she’s also such an interesting, friendly, intelligent person. Read on for some more highlights of our chat together.
Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose 
on Jun 01, 2011 @ 10:11 EST5EDT
I read each and every single word on this page and I was just wondering if Ayla Kell other know for {Payson keeler} told you if there was going to be season becouse im like her biggest fan :) :)………Thanxs.
I forgot about asking about if she had fun making the show and the cast if they had fun making it and that she is my idol thanxs agian :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :).
to be frank, she is ultra-focused like she would say. Can she actually accommodate someone who is somehow distracted? It’s very necessary cos that’s a leadership quality which she actually lacked in her show. You know in this life we meet a lot of people of diverse characters and the ability to handle them well makes us exceptional. She really needs it cos she is a leader in the making.