Today we’d like to introduce you to Teagan Earley.
Hi Teagan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a Chicago-based singer, actor, and producer, and the proud co-founder of Sisters First Productions—a Tony and Emmy award-winning production company and entertainment fund that seeks to support women, early career artists, early-stage businesses, and other vehicles for underrepresented voices using cutting edge technology and original, hybrid content. What drew me to produce in the first place was dissatisfaction with the content of the stories we consume daily and wanting to be part of the change that brought more people to the table. But it all started with singing – I’ve been singing since before I could talk (I am told my wordless rendition of “The Wheels on the Bus” is, to this day, one of her greatest hits), and after reading “Phantom of the Opera” (yeah, the original 1911 novel) when I was 11, I decided that I wanted to combine that love of music with my love for pretending, and started pursuing theatre. Since then, I’ve studied both classical and musical theatre vocal techniques, as well as graduated cum laude with a BA in Theatre from the University of Notre Dame, where my work helped earn the school’s “Alumni Award for Excellence in Theatre.” Some of my recent theatrical credits include Lucille Frank in Parade, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Veronica Sawyer in Heathers, Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, Lil’ Bit in How I Learned to Drive, and Wendla in Spring Awakening. Connie Dayton in Blow Your Horn by Neil Simon at The New Theatre is what brought me to Kansas City.
My voice is currently being featured as Athena on the Original Concept Album of “EPIC,” – a musical that first went viral on TikTok and has amassed more than 100 million views (and counting), debuted as #9 on Spotify with more than 3 million streams in its first week (doubling that to 6 million by the end of its second week), and climbed to the #2 Cast Albums spot on the Billboard Charts, surpassed only by “Hamilton.” The song I am featured on, “Warrior of the Mind,” was the top-streamed song on the album, and a clip of me recording the track went viral on TikTok with 4 million views and counting.
I have also been asked to sing with and for such artists as Kristin Chenoweth, Rita Moreno, Todd Rundgren, and Patti LuPone. And my work in musical comedy and improv recently earned her a starring role in The Second City’s musical revue show, Sing Out! The Best Friggin’ Songs of the Second City, in which she performed songs, sketches, and improv scenes written by the likes of Stephen Colbert, Steve Carrell, and Aidy Bryant. That’s a lot of bio-y stuff happy to elaborate on the stories of how I got to any of those points!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Some of my most rewarding experiences as an artist and businesswoman came when I was preparing for something entirely different. Half of the things I’ve worked on, I just stumbled into. And you don’t stumble on smooth roads! One of the struggles I face most regularly, however, is the fact that there are certain inherent biases that many people have towards 1) women and 2) young people, so as a combination of both those things, it is sometimes a struggle to be taken seriously or treated equally at a table that I’ve already worked 10x harder even to be included at.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
I am most proud of my Broadway investment credits. Through my fund, Sisters First, I was able to invest in “SIX,” the Broadway musical – I saw it when it had its North American tryout in Chicago and knew in my gut that it was going to take Broadway by storm. And the fact that it did that while being a female-led and centric production made up of a team of young people made it feel essential and exciting. Because it’s through projects like that, I truly believe, that new norms are born. That’s the power art and storytelling has.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and are any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Oh gosh. I graduated from undergrad in 2020. And by that, I mean that I was sent a diploma and watched a speech on my laptop while everyone was home in quarantine. The COVID crisis has taught me so much, mostly about myself and my endurance (considering I had the momentum every college kid dreams about when they’re about to leave school, and then all of it halted, and the industry I was about to burst into shut down), but also about how art can help guide us through the darkest moments.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.TeaganEarley.com
- Instagram: teaganearleyofficial
- Facebook: https://sistersfirst.io/
Image Credits
-Chicago Fire – NBC (screen grabs from show) -Peter Ringenberg (Stadium shot) -Thomas Carroll (“Horn” photos) -MJDV Photography (recording photo)
