Early Years…
Abi began her path in singing, dancing and acting at the age of 3, soon developing a strong voice and becoming very active within local Performing Arts institutions. Abi’s first-ever audition was for Annie in 2000 and performed her first ballet show when she was 4. She also was attending ballroom dancing lessons, entered dancing competitions and she has been performing in various productions with various companies ever since.
When Abi was 7 she started to learn piano and has continued developing her musical skills. Whilst at primary school, Abi was in local Performing Arts groups such as F.O.H.D.S, Julia’s Dance School and auditioned for school productions starting her Musical Theatre journey. Abi was 8 when she performed in F.O.H.D.S’s productions of FAME as a Music Student which was running at The Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. In primary school she played the role of Joseph in The Nativity and Tallulah in Bugsy Malone.
In 2006, Abi joined Secondary School which she auditioned for her school productions and started her professional theatre training with The Blackfish Academy at 11 years old. Abi performed in the ensemble with her school production of ‘Disco Inferno’ and played the role of Baloo from ‘The Jungle Book’ at Blackfish.
At 13, Abi played the role of Kate in her school’s production of ‘Pirates of Penzance’ and played The Cricket in ‘Pinocchio’ with Blackfish. She was also scouted by casting professionals and became a performer on Spotlight. She appeared in other Blackfish shows such as, ‘Aladdin’, ‘The Wedding Singer’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’ and ‘Runaways’. At this stage, Abi was also in the studio for the first time singing harmonies for her sister Louise who released her own album of original songs.
Early Teens…
At 14, Abi had already been active starring in over 13 shows and she became even more involved with her school productions. Abi auditioned successfully for the roles such as Dinah from ‘The Demon Headmaster’ and Scaramouche in ‘We Will Rock You’. She also landed the role of Lucy in the Blackfish’s production of ‘Dracula’.
At 15, Abi performed in Hungary as part of a music and performing arts tour. She also performed on the DFDS boat with Reggie Tsiboe (lead singer from Boney M) as part of as a flash mob for the Queen of Holland‘s birthday. The video was later shown on the big screen in Trafalgar square. Abi also performed on the West End stage with the cast of Jersey Boys, as part of a master class workshop. She has also performed on Her Majesty’s Theatre in London.
At 16, Abi landed the role of Vikki from ‘The Full Monty’ with Blackfish and she also played the role of The Narrator from ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat’. Abi travelled to Gibraltar to sing backing vocals for her sister Louise and started to write her own original songs. She performed alongside several top UK acts within the music industry including, The Web Sisters, Richard Digance, Jon Allen, Alvin Stardust and Chas Hodges (Chas and Dave).
Late Teens…
At 17, Abi attended West End classes in London and trained with W1 Workshops which is run by Nancy Sullivan who played Éponine in the West End musical ‘Les Misérables’, and David Thaxton who played The Phantom in the West End musical ‘Phantom Of The Opera’. In the Workshops Abi was also taught by Rachel Tucker and Killian Donnelly.
At this stage, Abi got through to the second round of Live & Unsigned, appeared on TV on the Grand Finals of Britain Does Variety and joined Wintershall Plays in Surrey. She performed in Trafalgar square in front of over 20,000 people working with professionals such as Ashley Herman, who is the chairman of governors at GSA (Guildford School of Acting). She then landed the role of Sarah from the musical ‘Our House’ with Blackfish Academy and Ariel from the musical ‘Footloose’ the following year. Abi then joined together with her brother and sister to collaborate as a family band named ‘ORFILA’.