Myleigh Swanson’s Theatrical Talent

Myleigh Swanson (10) is a young actress at Fair Grove High School who practices theatre at Springfield Little Theater everyday after school.

Being in theatre since she was three years old, Swanson has been acting her whole life. She was enrolled in theatre classes by her parents and ever since then, has been thriving in the spotlight. Swanson shared, “I’ve been doing it since I was so young that now, it’s become a part of my life that I honestly couldn’t imagine gone.” Swanson is a triple threat- she sings, dances, and acts. She trains those skills at The Judith Enyeart Reynolds School of the Performing Arts and at Springfield Little Theatre.

Swanson’s theatre training takes a lot of commitment and time. “Without rehearsal,” she said, “a typical week for me is film and ballet on Mondays, troupe and tap on Tuesdays, film and jazz on Wednesdays, two separate voice lessons on Thursdays, and then ballet again on Fridays.” Swanson spends roughly 12 hours a week training her singing, dance, and acting skills. 

When she is rehearsing for a show, that 12 hours turns into 32. “If we’re talking about a mainstage show, you have around two months of twenty hours a week rehearsal, and that’s before the show even opens,” Swanson explained. Swanson puts a lot of work into her performances.

Swanson performs on the Lander’s Stage and, when on tour, smaller cities around Springfield. Her favorite shows that she’s performed in, directed by Lorianne Dunn, are Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor DreamCoat and The Wizard of Oz. “… [they] really stick out when I look back on previous shows I have been a part of,” Swanson remembered. She was working on Matilda the Musical before it was postponed. Now, she is working on a showcase and has an upcoming audition for a show in April.

Theatre has greatly affected Swanson as a person. She shared, “It has definitely made me much more confident, more of a people person, assertive, hard-working, versatile, motivated, and has expanded my world view.” Swanson’s favorite part of theatre is working with other talented artists in workshops, zoom calls, and master classes. She can’t wait to see where theatre takes her.