Emma K. Miles is an actor and poet based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where she was born and raised immersed in New England life —bussing tables, playing sports, and slipping away to the woods or coastline whenever she could. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, and spent time living and working in Ireland and Scotland before returning home to the Cape. Currently she is living and training in Massachusetts and thrilled to apply to the 2026 URTA auditions.
As an emerging performer, Emma is drawn to layered, nuanced characters who feel deeply—people who are tender, conflicted, vulnerable, or complex and breathing life into such characters so they connect with the viewer in a meaningful way. She gravitates toward roles that allow her to portray a character in refreshing, surprising, funny, or heartbreakingly human ways. Her favorite role to date is Emily in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, a character whose curiosity, yearning, and sudden clarity about the beauty of ordinary life continue to shape Emma’s approach to the work.
Acting, for Emma, is a form of mindfulness in motion—a way of paying close attention to the truth of the present moment. Each role becomes an invitation to listen more deeply, to inhabit another person’s reality with honesty and care, and to offer that lived-in truth back to an audience. She believes the work should enrich everyone it touches: the people watching, the artists she collaborates with, and her own inner life. Her poetic background naturally informs her process; she is always searching for the precise emotional “line break” of a scene—the small, specific detail that allows a character’s realness to shine through and resonate with the audience.
Before focusing entirely on acting, Emma spent years working in the arts and within youth and community organizations across Cape Cod and overseas. She has displayed and published her creative work in galleries and literary publications, taught mindfulness, and worked with at-risk youth in schools and community programs. These experiences ground her as a performer and have provided a unique window into the human condition that continue to influence her work. She listens closely, pays attention to nuance, and comes into rehearsal with a deep respect for the complexity of real people’s lives. Her training and work in human services continually remind her that every character—no matter how flawed, fragile, or guarded—deserves to be approached with empathy, respect and presence.
When she isn’t working or rehearsing, Emma enjoys capturing artful moments and developing film from her home studio, exploring the ever changing coastal landscape, writing poetry, collecting VHS tapes, and spending time in meditation and mindfulness. Whether through poetry, on stage, or in film, she is always exploring the same essential question: how can art bring us closer to ourselves, and connect us more deeply to one another?
“Your interpretation of a role – that's poetry, not acting. It's what you bring to the script, not the script itself.”
- Robert De Niro
A Closer Look
These snapshots and clip offer a more intimate glimpse into Emma’s work on stage. Here you’ll find moments from recent productions alongside a feature from a local station highlighting her performance as Emily in Our Town. Together, they showcase her range, dedication, and presence in motion—inviting you to see not just the roles she plays, but the care, curiosity, and craft she brings to every story.
