Meowset Abbett never dreamed it would happen this fast.
Not long after her Inglemoor High graduation, the singer/actress auditioned for a role in Seattle Musical Theatre’s “Camelot,” hoping to at least earn a spot in the ensemble. She surpassed that goal by far, and will soon be starring as the lead character of Princess Guenevere, King Arthur of England’s future queen. Rehearsals will start Aug. 2 and the show will run Sept. 10-Oct. 2.
“I was surprised to be cast. I suppose they wanted some fresh blood and a younger queen,” said Abbett, 18, who’s been teaching piano lessons along with doing some dancing, singing and piano playing of her own this summer. “It will be my first professional musical — I can’t wait for rehearsals to begin.”
Abbett’s dream is to perform on Broadway in New York City a few years from now, and she’ll get a huge jump-start on her professional career with “Camelot.” While starring in the show, she’ll attend the University of Washington and major in vocal performance; next year, City University of New York’s Hunter College is on tap, getting her in the vicinity of Broadway.
“I can’t wait to get into college with people who are as excited about performing as I am,” Abbett said. “(Finding) City University, that was just a miracle. I can get my master’s and be teaching or performing by the time I’m 21 in downtown New York.”
Locally, Abbett won the 2010 Lake Washington Singers Scholarship for the second consecutive year, and gave a solo performance at the singers’ spring concert, “Rhythms of Life,” in June. While at Inglemoor, she starred as Rose Alvarez in “Bye Bye Birdie” (and was nominated as best actress at Seattle’s 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards) and Belle in “Beauty and Beast.”
Although both characters were fun to play, Abbett preferred Rose over Belle: “Rose had much more depth and sass to her, more heart and soul and flair. She was a more spicy character.”
Abbett added that she enjoys being on stage and connecting with audiences, whether it’s at the Northshore Performing Arts Center or at Inglemoor High, where she and some of her theater-arts mates acted out a drunken-driving-accident scenario for students a few days before prom night.
“You could see the looks on their faces that they were really shocked,” Abbett said of the students, who were urged not to drink and drive by the actors and a local police officer. “It’s nice to know you can make a good impact on them.”
With “Camelot” rehearsals just around the corner, Abbett has a calm and heartfelt demeanor when discussing her career. However, there also appears to be a beaming, crowd-pleasing side to her that’s ready to break out on stage.
“There’s a lot of hard work and a lot of luck,” she said of scoring the “Camelot” role. “If you work hard, the luck will come into play on its own.”
