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Willington resident is an actress on the rise

Eastern student Abigail Donaghy balances school with show business

by Molly Boucher

Willimantic, CT (04/12/2022) — Abigail Donaghy was 13 years old when her father brought her to an open audition in New York City and her life changed forever. Today, at 22, she is a full-time Eastern student who is managing a budding career as an actress. The History major from Willington has appeared in movies and television series on Netflix, HBO Max, Showtime and Amazon Prime Video.

Donaghy was introduced to the theatre world by her parents at a young age. "My mom did theater growing up, so she got me into it when I was really little," she said. "When I was 12 years old, I started doing shows with the Windham Theatre Guild, a community theater down the street. I did about 10 shows with them and really grew up there."

After catching the acting bug, Donaghy - whose father is English Professor Daniel Donaghy - pestered her parents about getting a professional acting job. The NYC casting call, where she read for an oatmeal commercial, earned her a contract with Stewart Talent and Lil' Angels Unlimited talent agencies, where she has been signed ever since.

Donaghy has since appeared in a number of well-known productions, including a principal role in the Netflix film "The Half of It"; a co-star role in episode five of the HBO Max series "Love Life"; and the role of 16-year-old Midge in season 4, episode 7 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

Along with her time spent acting in New York City, Donaghy is also a full-time History major with minors in Psychology and pre-Law. Hoping to expand her education past acting, she studies history because of her interest in historical roles she's played in past theatrical productions.

"When I was at the Windham Theatre Guild, I played Anne Frank and Helen Keller onstage. I loved doing all the research and learning as much about them as I could. Acting and history are similar in a way - they are both about learning stories and taking your interpretations behind why and how they happened. I like the stories!"

Despite the unique and exciting experience of being a working actor and college student, Donaghy says that balancing the two can be difficult. Crucial to her success is a strong work ethic, often completing assignments early to avoid falling behind. However, Donaghy said the pandemic eased some of her acting stressors.

"Most auditions are self-tapes, which means I record it myself and upload it by a certain day. This makes it a lot easier to balance," she explained. "Before, I would have to miss the entire day to go into Manhattan. Now, I can just go back home - we have a set up in the basement." However, Donaghy did say that when acting takes her time, her professors have always been understanding.

Donaghy's acting career is on the rise, with a number of jobs that she is excited to start working on. "I've been lucky so far," she said. "I hope that I keep getting to work for as long as I can."

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving more than 4,300 students annually on its Willimantic campus. In addition to attracting students from 163 of Connecticut's 169 towns, Eastern also draws students from 31 states and 10 countries. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 65 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal art foundation grounded in a variety of applied learning opportunities. Ranked as the #1 public regional university in New England by U.S. News & World Report in its 2020, 2021 and 2022 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 12 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.

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