Blog

Aveleigh Keller truly wowed the crowd at Factory163 during her August performance in the Women of Broadway and Beyond. After watching her charismatic performance, as well as seeing her truly impressive drive and behind the scenes work to get the show off the ground, we knew we had to talk to her!

We caught up with Aveleigh recently to find out more about this talented and determined performer!

1) Could you tell us about what it is you do?

I perform musical theatre primarily, but I also do straight theatre and television acting as well.

2)What sparked your passion for performing?

When I was little I always sang and danced around the living room, I was a real attention hog.  At the age of 7 or 8 I auditioned for a community production of Cinderella (in which I was a dancing dish).  I really had fun in that, and when my music teacher Wendy Ewert recommended I audition for The Music Man at the Stratford Festival in 2008, I jumped at the chance.  Out of some amazing luck I got in, and that was the production that really made me want to continue in musical theatre.  Although, it was the production of The Wizard of Oz that I was in at The Grand Theatre in London, ON in 2009 that really made me decide to pursue this as a career.  I remember I was wheeling Dorothy around (played by Adrienne Dennis) during the tornado scene and I was having so much fun.  Then I remember Adrienne said, [this is] “Just a normal day at the office!” and that’s when I realized I needed to do this forever.  I wanted this to be my normal day at the office.

3)Do you have any especially memorable moments or performances in your career so far?

The Music Man was of course memorable, because it was my first role ever in professional theatre, but there have been so many productions I’ve loved being in.  I loved being in Evita at the Stratford Festival in 2010 because I was working with my role model (Chilina Kennedy) who still inspires me to this day.  My first film job was in Web of Lies with Discovery ID when I played Kacie Woody in a documentary.  It was so emotional to be playing a real person who died in such tragic circumstances, and I have such respect for her and her family.

4)Do you have any mentors or role models in the industry?

I have so many I can’t name them all, but here are just a few of them.  Wendy Ewert has been my music teacher since I was very young, around 4 years old.  She taught me Music for Young Children, and then became my private voice teacher.  She was the one who recommended I audition for The Music Man, and she’s pushed me to achieve my goals ever since.  Rachel Crowther and Steve Cota have been there for me since The Music Man, and have always been there for advice and mentorship.  Before my Sheridan audition, I lost my voice and I remember making a very frantic call to Rachel to get advice on how to get it back.  David Keeley helped me with the monologues I needed for school auditions, and has had my back ever since we did The Sound of Music with Drayton Entertainment in 2013.  But really anyone I’ve worked with has helped me get to where I am now, and I’m so grateful for all the help they’ve given me.

5)What are your future plans, projects and goals?

Right now I’m about to start classes at Sheridan College in the Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance program.  It’s very exciting, and I can’t wait to be pushed to new levels of what I can be.  After Sheridan I would love to work at the Stratford Festival again, it’s such a loving and professional atmosphere.  I would also love to work at The Shaw Festival, and maybe even Broadway!  Who knows!

To read more about Aveleigh’s past film and television work head to her IMDB page.

You can also check out Aveleigh on twitter at @aveleighkeller!