Alumni Spotlight January 2012
January 2012
Mckynleigh Abraham,
2010 YoungArts Winner in Theater
At age 19, Mckynleigh has already been a contender on the popular show The Glee Project. Born and raised in Kentucky, Mckynleigh began performing at the tender age of three, and hasn’t stopped since. She has been acting, dancing, singing, and rapping onstage for over 16 years; performing in over 100 productions at her community college and community theatre. Mckynleigh accredits much of her success to being home schooled grades K through 12, providing ample time to practice her art without having to worry about the interruption of a school bell.
In 2008, Mckynleigh auditioned for Kentucky Governors School for the Arts and was accepted into the Drama and Musical Theatre disciplines. The three week intensive program prompted Mckynleigh to realize that Musical Theatre was her calling. In 2011 she was prominently nominated as the W.C. Young Community Endowment Woman of the Year, in her hometown of Paducah. Mckynleigh is currently in her freshman year at Northern Kentucky University pursuing a BFA in Musical Theatre.
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We recently caught up with Mckynleigh and asked her to share some insights about the YoungArts program and the life of a actress:
1) Who has inspired your work?
I would say that my dad has always been an inspiration in my work but my best friend, Abby Potts, who is also my roommate, has inspired me a lot in my songwriting and guitar playing.
2) How did you get involved with the Glee Project?
I was in theatre class one day and one of my friends told me about the audition in Chicago. I had no intention on auditioning actually. I just went to drive two of my friends (one of them was Robert Sharkey who was a 2009 NFAA honorable mention) to audition, then I decided at the last minute to audition and I got on the show! It was crazy!
3) If you could have any superpower, what would it be, and why?
If I could have any super power I would want to be able to split my voice into a choir of about 10 so that when I got to the chorus of a song I was singing I could burst into harmony.
4) What do you feel is more important: raw talent or hard work/determination?
I don't think that you can have one or the other. Hard work is good but if you don't have the talent to go along with it then there is that “umph” that's missing. Same goes with raw talent, you have to work hard to accomplish anything worthwhile.
Past Alumni Spotlights
