MINNEAPOLIS – Minot native Abigail Walker is set to hit the stage for Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as an understudy for the company’s production of Dr. Seuss’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” in early November.

Walker and her family moved from Minot to Minneapolis in 2013 while Walker was in the ninth grade at Central Campus. Her love for theater started when she was just 3 years old during a production of “The 12 Dancing Princesses” by the Mouse River Players (MRP) community theater in Minot. She was also Wendy in “Peter Pan” for MRP and in “Alice in Wonderland” with the Western Plains Opera Company.

Upon high school graduation in Minneapolis, she went on to pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting from North Dakota State University and graduated in 2020.

After earning her degree she moved to Washington, D.C., where she got her first acting job at The Kennedy Center as the lead in a new musical called “She Sings Me Home.”

Walker performed on the East Coast tour of “The Bridgerton Experience” for Netflix, performing 13 times a week. She also has performed in “The Ghost Quartet” at Theatre Elision in Crystal, Minnesota, a show the theater performs every year. She recalled having to learn how to play three new instruments for the show and had to play 10 instruments total. She said the experience of the show was very rewarding because it was so challenging, but she was able to pull it off. Both shows, she said, were the highlights of her career so far.

“I honestly just can’t see myself doing anything else that’s not theater. It brings me just so much joy and it’s so much fun to see the audience’s reaction to the art that we’re creating and also just creating with people, it’s just so rewarding. I’m very lucky to be able to continue that as an adult,” she said.

Her current job with CTC as an understudy has been a fun challenge for Walker. She has had to learn five roles to prepare for Dr. Seuss’s “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas!” and will receive short notice when she’s called to the stage.

The show is a CTC original but has gained traction. It’s gone on tour and has even been performed on Broadway in New York City. This is the 11th time the company has produced this show, and Walker said she’s honored to be a part of its legacy.

Walker’s career goal is to eventually make her way east to New York City, but she said she doesn’t want to leave Minneapolis quite yet. She enjoys the city and has made great friends and connections with people she enjoys making art with. She’s going to continue to audition for shows in Minneapolis and has the mindset of “Things will come as they come.”

“The biggest thing I’ve learned is get training. You don’t necessarily have to go to college for it. Take acting classes, read acting books and learn different methods – like Stanislavski’s great, Uta Hagen’s phenomenal. Take some dance classes. Get in voice lessons. Anyone can learn how to do this if you put in the time. If you really love doing it, you have to set aside some time for it,” Walker said. “Continue to submit for shows and continue to audition and just keep learning and growing in the craft and it’s going to happen eventually.”