Abigail Ridings is the first Fannin County High School thespian to ever make it to the Georgia Thespians’ All-State Theatre as a performer.
For the majority of Ridings’ life, she has been involved in the arts—starting with dance at the age of four.
In middle school, Ridings was introduced to chorus where her teacher encouraged her to audition for the high school’s production of Shrek Jr. The Musical, which was never performed for an audience because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now, as a senior in high school and president of the school’s Thespian Troupe 6952, Ridings has begun a more serious career with hopes of making it all the way to Broadway.
“I’m so excited to see what she does in college because I know she’ll make it to Broadway. I have no doubts,” high school Drama Teacher Daniel Hodgkins said.
Last Saturday, September 7, Ridings traveled to Warner Robins, Georgia, for her first rehearsal for the Opening Number at the 2025 Georgia Thespian Conference.
Of the opening number, Hodgkins said, “It is a show that Georgia Thespians writes that uses different songs from musical theatre to tell an original story.”
The conference will be held in February in Columbus, Georgia, where she will perform for thespian troupes from all across the state.
Auditions for the All-State Theatre took place in August and involved a one-take video that included a monologue, song and choreography.
In addition to All-State Theatre, last year, Ridings won Georgia High School Association’s (GHSA) One Act Play All-Star cast for her performance as Shelby in Steel Magnolias.
She will play Eurydices in this year’s high school production of Hadestown: Teen Edition, which the troupe will bring to the GHSA One Act Competition, and last year, she was Belle in Beauty in the Beast.
“She doesn’t give herself enough credit,” Hodgkins said mentioning those accomplishments.
Additionally, she is no stranger at the Blue Ridge Community Theater.
Ridings recalled playing Florinda in Into the Woods at the community theater, and said, “That was fun. Obviously, it wasn’t my biggest role I’ve ever played.
“She was one of those characters where you can be as big and expressive as you want.”
Ridings enjoys the theatre as it is an “escape from reality, and you can be as expressive and creative as you want to be. And, there’s not really a wrong way to do it.”
Ridings said she doesn’t necessarily have a pre-performance ritual, but she does have to remind herself to “tap in and tap out” of character.
“I tend to get too into character a lot of the time and can’t really get out of it,” Ridings said.
“Because, one time, I played Shelby in Steel Magnolias, and she has like a sickness and she dies, so I would tend to stay like sad or angry after I played her. So, we put signs that are ‘tap in, tap out,’ so when I walk on the stage, tap in, and now I’m the character, and then, when I’m done, tap out, and now, I’m myself.”
Aside from theatre, she enjoys English and has been known to songwrite.
After high school, she plans to attend The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York.
Ridings also received callbacks from The Academy for Excellence through the Arts and New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.
Her decision to pursue AMDA came down to the facts that the school has alumni and teachers that are tied to Broadway.
“Everyone who goes turns out successful, basically,” Ridings said of her decision. “I just know that I want to learn from the best so that I can train to be the best.”
Ridings credits Broadway star Annaleigh Ashford for being her biggest inspiration; however, she also admires Bernadette Peters.
With a gleam in her eyes, Ridings recounted meeting Ashford when she saw the Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
“I told her that she was who I wanted to be when I grow up, and so, I always want to push myself and be better, so that way, I can prove to her that I can be just like her,” Ridings said.
Describing Ashford further, she said, “One day, I hope people might say that about me, ‘She just is Abigail Ridings.’”
Although many of Ridings’ dreams are already coming true, she still aspires to one day play in Sweeney Todd, even as an ensemble, and as Dot in Sunday in the Park with George.