Keilly McQuail’s Theatrical Journey

Leads To The Tisch School At NYU

By Laurie Borst

Newtown native Keilly McQuail first stepped on stage while attending Hawley Elementary School.

“I loved it from first time I got on stage,” Keilly said. “My dad gave me the acting bug, I think. He had done some acting in high school and college. He was a member of Equity and did some off-Broadway.  He’s in direct marketing now. When he met my mom, well, family won out over acting.”

Keilly has appeared on many stages in the area. The hard work she has put in has paid off. Keilly recently learned that she had been accepted to the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University where she will begin theater studies in the fall.

Part of NYU’s appeal, Keilly admits, is its location with lots of opportunities for stage work. NYU provides studio training and has a liberal arts program, too. Keilly hopes doors will be opened.

The talented thespian began acting with the Town Players. At the age of 10, Keilly shared the role of Rhoda Penmark, the evil child in The Bad Seed, by Gary Morris. Susan Kinnear was the director.

“It was one of those things where I didn’t know I could do it,” Keilly stated. “I think my parents were more scared for me than I was.”

Their fears proved unfounded. Keilly was next cast as Vicki in Attracting Hummingbirds, an original play by local writer Ben DaSilva. The play is about a group of people trapped in a log cabin in a snowstorm and their interactions.

“I was psyched to do it, to originate a role,” Keilly said. “Vicki is smarter than she lets on. She fell in love with an older man. It was an ingénuey kind of role.”

Then came the role of Lucy Seward in Dracula, which was being performed by the Town Players.

“Lucy was another dark role, an ingénue type who becomes a vampire,” Keilly explained. “It was interesting to go back to the Town Players to act. Working with Susan Kinnear again was great.”

Although she had appeared in a number of plays, Keilly reports she was still trying to find her footing, her self-confidence.

“I don’t think I really came into my own until this summer on Urinetown,” she related.

This past summer, Keilly kept a busy schedule. She was attending theater classes at Circle in the Square in New York City. She would attend classes during the day and drive from the city to New Milford TheatreWorks for rehearsals on Urinetown.

Sharon Wilcox, who works with the Thomaston Opera House and Warner Theater, was the director of Urinetown. Keilly credits Ms Wilcox with instilling great confidence in herself. “I appreciate her so much,” Keilly stated.

Keilly played Little Sally, unofficial narrator of the play. Andrea Drygas, theater critic for The Citizen News, had to this to say about Keilly’s performance:

“It is truly Keilly McQuail, however, who stops the show with her incredibly uncomfortable, altogether creepy, and kind of depressed portrayal of that little girl clutching a teddy bear. While perhaps the most awkwardly funny character, she is also the wisest, especially when she makes astute observations about the show, and declares that the title is awful. Just as ‘kids say the darndest things,’ Little Sally always makes spot on, but inconvenient, remarks that steal all the laughs.”

Becoming Blanche

Most recently, Keilly took a successful turn as that quintessential southern damsel, Blanche DuBois, in Newtown High School Drama Club’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

Keilly loved the role of Blanche, declaring, “she is just decadent.” Keilly summed up the role this way: “Blanche is every Greek tragedy rolled into one. To her, everything she said was most important. She could justify everything she did. She held to her convictions. I don’t think she’s crazy, I think she’s brave.”

Keilly knew there were people who wondered about NHS being able to do this play. Anyone who saw the production knows the cast and crew rose to the occasion. Nathaniel Basch-Gould, NHS senior, directed.

“Nathaniel was always there for me. I loved working with him. He’s amazing” Keilly declared. “The whole cast really great. There was no drama between the actors, no backstage rivalries.”

As it turns out, Streetcar was Keilly’s last performance on the Newtown High School stage. As Keilly said, “It’s a great way to go out.”

Because of her current academic schedule, Keilly cannot take part in the NHS spring musical. She spends her mornings at Newtown High and her afternoons at the magnet art school in New Haven, the Educational Center for the Arts (ECA). It is her first year studying there.

She describes ECA as like a family, supportive and nurturing.

“I’m with people who love the same things I do,” Keilly continued. “I went through questioning period, the long days. But I absolutely love it. It’s worth the long days. I know I’m where I need to be.

“This has been the focus of my life since I first got on stage. I guess it’s strange to know what you want to do that young,” Keilly said. “With acting, you have to know wholeheartedly you want to do it.”

How does this young lady from suburbia become the quirky characters she likes to play?

Enjoying The Odd Roles

“My favorite human quality is empathy. To be able to empathize is the best thing in the world,” Keilly said. “You have to fall in love with character or it doesn’t work.”

“I love the odd roles. I’ve done the ingénue thing. It’s always fun to get dressed up. But, I love the character roles,” she continued. “I completely immersed myself in Little Sally and Blanche. It’s so far from me, you have to dive head first into them. That’s what I love to do.”

Next up, Keilly returns to New Milford’s TheaterWorks, for Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, written by Bert V. Royal.

“It’s about the Peanuts gang in high school. It’s really poignant. I play Tricia. She is Peppermint Patty, but very different. She’s not a tomboy anymore. Actually, she’s a little promiscuous,” Keilly divulged.

 Dog Sees God can be seen weekends starting February 23 through March 16. For more information, visit the theater’s website, theatreworks.us/main.html.

Keilly has been working with a vocal teacher since age 8. She studied dance with the Lathrop school, but dropped it when her older sister did. She expressed some regret at not staying with it.

She has leaned toward work in dramas recently, having done a lot of work in musicals previously. Of the theatrical world she says, “Musicals today want triple threats. I think it’s more important to be grounded in drama. If you can emote something, it doesn’t matter if you can hit high C. While I always want to keep my voice in shape, dramatics is now the focus.”

Keilly loves Stephen Sondheim and Jonathan Larson, composer of Rent. Of Sondheim she says, “I don’t think he writes for singers. I like actors who can sing, more than singers who act.”

The last really good play Keilly has seen was a revival of Company. Her favorite play is The Pillow Man by Martin McDonough.

“I try to see as much as I can,” Keilly said. “If you’re up there trying, I appreciate it, although I may not love it.”

Keilly would like to do another Tennessee Williams play, because she feels he writes amazing roles for females, with so many layers. And, she  would love to revisit Blanche.

As to the future, Keilly is open to trying film, TV, stage, whatever is out there that she can explore. She believes that with stage training one is forced to improve.

“If you can’t hold an audience’s attention, you can do how ever many takes you want,” she said.

She would love to work with Raul Esparza, who she describes as a brilliant actor.

“He is the best performer in my time. So honest on stage, nothing is forced. He is completely in the moment.”

Besides acting, this dynamic young woman actually has time for other pursuits. She likes to write, for one thing.

“I think it helps me a lot in acting,” she said. “I love language, dialogue, how people communicate. I mostly write for myself. That will always be part of my life.”

Keilly is also active in the community as a senior officer in NYCAAP (Newtown Youth Creating AIDS Awareness for Peers). At Newtown High School, Keilly takes part in Best Buddies, a group that bridges the gap between Special Education and mainstream students where they build one-to-one friendships.