Cayla Stus is a singer, songwriter, actor, director, music director, and arranger who brings confident professionalism and friendly reliability to everything she does. 

Cayla received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre with a minor in Music from Oakland University. While finishing this degree, Cayla was involved in various productions, both main and second stage, where she was a performer, a director, music director, and technician. Her most notable theatrical performances were in A Little Night Music (Mrs. Segstrom) and Varner Act II: A Musical Revue, in the latter of which she was both in the cast and served as the Assistant Music Director. Cayla also directed two productions, her independently funded production of In Pieces, and her Advanced Directing Project, We Aren’t Kids Anymore. While at Oakland University, Cayla has also been in numerous vocal ensembles, including University Chorus (2020-2022), Oakland Chorale (2022-Current), and Golden Grizzly Jazz Singers (2022-Current). In Spring 2025, she will be graduating with a second degree, a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies focusing in Contemporary Music. She currently studies with Alta Dantzler, Scott Gwinnell, and Mike Mitchell. In April 2024, Cayla was recognized with OU’s MTD Award, an honor that recognizes achievement in the interdisciplinary nature of the school.

As a performer, Cayla is drawn to songs of storytelling, no matter the genre. She loves music that uses various levels of dynamic intensity, and even if something challenges her, she never shies away from said challenge. Her powerful, contemporary belt and riffs may deceive you, as she is also a trained jazz vocalist and has over ten years of classical and choral vocal experience. Cayla loves something that will challenge her, and her roster of performance experience definitely reflects that. Some of Cayla’s favorite acting roles include The Sound of Music (Maria), The Little Mermaid (Grimsby/Allana), Applause (Bonnie), and the opera Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso/Donna Fonzo). In addition to Così, Cayla has been part of two other operas while at Oakland University, Acis and Galatea and The Old Maid and the Thief and The Impresario, the most recent of which she was not only in the chorus, but also the Assistant Music Director.