MaKayla Baxter is an artist and educator based in New York City. She was born and raised in rural Oklahoma, where she spent her childhood wearing out VHS tapes of Judy Garland and Julie Andrews, captivated by their remarkable ability to fully immerse themselves in their art — how they could make any song feel like a confession straight from the soul, with each note filled to the brim with longing, honesty, and unwavering intentionality.

With no arts programs to be found within a 60-mile radius, MaKayla learned two life-defining truths at a very young age: She couldn't live without music, and would need to forge a unique path to develop and nourish her own artistry. 

From performing a nightly one-woman production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in her living room for an audience of Barbie dolls as a child to establishing a student-run drama program at her local high school (which was featured on Good Morning America, won the NBC R.I.S.E. America grant, and ultimately became a permanent department within the school system), she has always been driven by her passion for both creating art and fighting for equitable opportunities to allow others to do the same. 

These passions led her to graduate from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelor of Music in Music Theater, and a Master of Arts in Nonprofit Leadership (Arts Administration.) She's also an alumnus of Kristin Chenoweth's Broadway Bootcamp, where she later spent several summers as an intern and assistant to Chenoweth and faculty such as Kenny Ortega and John McDaniel.

She was recently seen onstage as Jenna in the Oklahoma regional premiere of Waitress, Carole King in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and Cathy in The Last Five Years. Other select credits include Edward Rutledge in 1776, Portia in Something Rotten!, and Fraulein Kost in Cabaret.

As well as being a performer, MaKayla loves working to inspire the next generation through art, and currently works as an early childhood music and movement teacher and children's party entertainer. In her spare time, she enjoys spoiling her dog, Blossom, playing The Sims 2 (yes, she still plays a game that came out in 2004), and attempting to perfect the ultimate oat milk iced latte.