About

Biography

Kaitlyn O’Neill, a Portland native, started performing at just eight years old. Her first professional production was with Oregon Ballet Theatre as an angel in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker. She would later go on to star as Marie in the very same production five years later. She discovered her love for musical theatre and acting in high school, having performed in Into The Woods as Little Red Riding Hood, Romeo and Juliet as Lady Capulet, and She Kills Monsters as Lily/Lilith. In addition, she began working professionally as a performer in the Portland Metro Area in 2022. She has had the privilege to work with Oregon Children’s Theater, Theater Diaspora, DanceAbility, Portland Opera, and Ping and Woof Opera starring in musicals, stage readings, dance showcases, and operas, respectively.

Kaitlyn’s life has been surrounded by the arts from an incredibly early age, having started violin at two years old, ballet at four, and piano at six. She spent the majority of her childhood honing her skills as a ballet dancer and classical pianist. She trained at the School of Oregon Ballet Theatre for ten years, specializing in Balanchine technique, pointe work variations, and ensemble work. She also studied piano under the instruction of Ayako Matsuo for twelve years and completed the OMTA piano syllabus curriculum with distinction. She later started private voice lessons at age twelve under Jocelyn Claire Thomas, a highly praised opera singer in Portland, focusing on classical and musical theatre repertoire. The summers after her sophomore and junior years, she was accepted to and attended prestigious summer musical theatre pre-college programs at Carnegie Mellon University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. She is now studying in New York City at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy working towards her BFA in musical theatre.

When Kaitlyn isn’t in class or performing, she works as a music director and piano teacher based in Manhattan. She found her love for music directing after attending rehearsals for Portland Center Stage’s production of Sweeney Todd. She is currently an associate music director at Kidz Theatre, having recently worked on The Secret Garden and Sweeney Todd. Additionally, she gives in-person and remote piano lessons to kids and adults. Kaitlyn is also an aspiring professional accompanist and is available to work on new projects.

American Idiot was the first live musical Kaitlyn ever saw when she was seven years old, and she has been hooked ever since. Her love of musicals only grew as she surrounded herself with all things performing arts. Moreover, she’s incredibly thankful for all the teachers that have nurtured her talent and work ethic over the years. As a teacher herself, she hopes to pass on the knowledge and passion she was fortunate enough to receive. One of Kaitlyn’s defining moments as an artist was performing in Oregon Children’s Theater’s production of Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. The musical made history as being the first all AAPI cast of a show in Oregon, and played a pivotal role in Kaitlyn’s commitment for advocacy in the theater industry. Despite her newness to the industry, she prides herself on her passion and dedication to both the arts and DEI, and hopes to provide representation for female, AAPI, and LGBTQ+ performers and music directors alike.

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