About Kyle
Kyle Holmes is an educator, playwright, and Director of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative, working to expand access to high-quality arts education across California. His work sits at the intersection of statewide policy and local practice, connecting education leadership, strategic planning, and creative learning.
A former high school theatre teacher and co-founder of Uproar Theatrics, Kyle's musical Ranked is the subject of the 2022 HBO documentary “My So-Called High School Rank.”
Across these roles, his work is rooted in the belief that the arts aren't simply part of a complete education. They're fundamental to what makes us human.
Kyle Holmes is an educator, playwright, and Director of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative, working to expand access to high-quality arts education across California. His work sits at the intersection of statewide policy and local practice, connecting education leadership, strategic planning, and creative learning.
For nearly a decade, Kyle served as Director of Theatre Arts at Granite Bay High School in Northern California, building a comprehensive, sequential theatre program that prepared students for careers in the arts while developing skills that would serve them wherever life took them. His students have gone on to pursue creative careers and opportunities in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Ashland, and beyond.
Having found his own sense of belonging through theatre as a teenager, Kyle understood that the most important work happening in his classroom wasn't necessarily what audiences saw onstage. It was what happened along the way, as young people found their voices, made sense of the world around them, and discovered that their stories mattered.
That experience continues to shape his work today. Access to the arts is essential, but access alone isn't the goal. What matters is what becomes possible when students are given the space, trust, and freedom to create something of their own.
The Classroom
For nearly a decade, Kyle served as Director of Theatre Arts at Granite Bay High School in Northern California, building a comprehensive, sequential theatre program that prepared students for careers in the arts while developing skills that would serve them wherever life took them. His students have gone on to pursue creative careers and opportunities in Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Ashland, and beyond.
Having found his own sense of belonging through theatre as a teenager, Kyle understood that the most important work happening in his classroom wasn't necessarily what audiences saw onstage. It was what happened along the way, as young people found their voices, made sense of the world around them, and discovered that their stories mattered.
That experience continues to shape his work today. Access to the arts is essential, but access alone isn't the goal. What matters is what becomes possible when students are given the space, trust, and freedom to create something of their own.
Statewide Impact
After nearly a decade in the classroom, Kyle brought his experience as an educator to the California Department of Education, where he worked on statewide education programs and policy.
Today, as Director of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative, Kyle works alongside county education leaders and partners to strengthen arts education across California's 58 counties. His work sits at the intersection of statewide policy and local practice, with a focus on Proposition 28 implementation, strategic arts planning, professional learning, and building the capacity of county offices of education to support their schools and districts.
The goal remains the same as it was in the classroom: ensuring that access to meaningful arts education isn't a matter of geography, circumstance, or luck, but an opportunity available to every student.
Statewide Impact
After nearly a decade in the classroom, Kyle brought his experience as an educator to the California Department of Education before becoming Director of the California County Superintendents Statewide Arts Initiative.
Today, he works with education leaders across California's 58 counties to connect statewide policy with local practice, strengthen arts education programs, and support the implementation of Proposition 28.
The goal remains the same as it was in the classroom: making meaningful arts education an opportunity for every student, not a matter of geography or luck.
Explore Statewide Arts Leadership →
In 2018, Kyle co-created Ranked, A Musical with composer David Taylor Gomes. Developed with students at Granite Bay High School, the musical explores academic pressure, competition, and the ways young people define their own worth. Since its premiere, Ranked has been performed by more than 100 schools and universities worldwide and became the subject of HBO's documentary My So-Called High School Rank.
In 2021, Kyle co-founded Uproar Theatrics, a theatrical licensing company dedicated to reimagining how new work reaches the stage. Built on the belief that great theatre extends far beyond Broadway, Uproar connects creators with schools and theatres around the world, expanding access to original plays and musicals while ensuring the artists behind them are fairly compensated.
Still Creating
In 2018, Kyle co-created Ranked, A Musical with composer David Taylor Gomes. Developed with students at Granite Bay High School, the musical explores academic pressure, competition, and the ways young people define their own worth. Since its premiere, Ranked has been performed by more than 100 schools and universities worldwide and became the subject of HBO's documentary My So-Called High School Rank.
In 2021, Kyle co-founded Uproar Theatrics, a theatrical licensing company dedicated to reimagining how new work reaches the stage. Built on the belief that great theatre extends far beyond Broadway, Uproar connects creators with schools and theatres around the world, expanding access to original plays and musicals while ensuring the artists behind them are fairly compensated.
Explore Playwriting & Creative Work →
Photos by Rachel Monteleone, Anthony Weaver,, and Sean Linehan
Photos by Rachel Monteleone, Anthony Weaver,, and Sean Linehan