kara royster Words by IAN HAYS Photos by CATHERINE POWELL
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Kara Royster is ready to conquer Hollywood. If you’re a fan of Pretty Little Liars or K.C. Undercover, you probably already know who she is. And with plenty of projects that have either just wrapped up or are finishing in post-production, rest assured, she will be a face gracing your screen much more in the near future. Her journey began years ago, before she was ever in front of a camera. The daughter of a baseball player, Kara was born in Colorado. But, the minute she could be put on a plane, her family moved to West Palm Beach, Flo.: a sunny place that matches her sunny disposition. And it was there she was bit by the acting bug. She went to arts middle schools and eventually found herself at the prestigious Dreyfoos School of the Arts. But even before then she knew she wanted to act. Kara’s older sister was already involved in acting, and like countless younger siblings before her, a shared passion soon emerged. Kara’s “a-ha” moment came when her sister was rehearsing her audition monologue for Dreyfoos. “My sister propped me up like a stuffed animal and I got to watch her do it so many different ways,” Kara says, “It was in that moment that I realized that was also what I wanted to do.” That kicked Kara into high gear. Any chance she got she would attend plays and performances and soak up everything she saw. She applied this determination and drive to her work which eventually landed her at Dreyfoos as well. Kara’s first play was Rapunzel, and she was the narrator. She still remembers how dramatically she performed her role. Years later she even watched footage of it and couldn’t help but laugh at how far she has come. Eventually, she took the next step: Hollywood. She followed in the footsteps of her sister and took a flight out to Los Angeles without looking back. She had transferred to the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts. In her mind, she was always going to be a stage actress, but plans eventually changed. In Los Angeles, it’s all about television and film. And while she knew she would probably dabble in some of that, she didn’t realize just how far that would take her. Attending LACHSA propelled her into the world of acting in front of a camera. “My biggest thing is I just keep reading the script over and over and over again. I like always connecting it to maybe someone I know or an experience I’ve had. One of the