Featured Artist: Shaunessy Wallace

By Maya Moore | News, Copy Editor

From the time she was 2 years old, senior Shaunessy Wallace has been fascinated with performing.
“I remember the first show I ever saw was the ‘Nutcracker,’ and I was completely invigorated with how much a person could tell a story with just their body,” Wallace said. “And, I was like, and if they can just do that with dancing, imagine what a person could do with their voice. … My mom jokes, ‘I knew it was gonna be a bad thing when I yelled your name 10 times, and you never took your eyes off of the dancers.’ It was specifically the snowflakes. They were so pretty.”
Following this experience, she participated in her first production, “Lion King Jr.,” when she was only 2-and-a-half years old. She has since performed in numerous shows, including ones at KMC, as well as at Musical Theatre Wichita and Atlanta Theatre. She has had roles such as Young Nala and Nala in “The Lion King,” Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde,” Regina George in “Mean Girls: The Musical,” the witch in “Into the Woods,” one of the narrators in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” the nurse in “Romeo and Juliet,” and Crystal in “The Little Shop of Horrors.” Music teacher Michelle Vardaman, along with many other people, have taken notice of Wallace’s talent.
“She has a natural natural ability that is highly unnatural,” Vardaman said. “Her voice is sincere and authentic and emotional, and all those things that are normally what you would try to teach someone, but it’s impossible to teach them. And, she just has it: God’s special gift, for sure.”
Although she has natural ability, she has come to understand that there is always room for improvement. Her directors help her to perform to the best of her ability, Wallace said.
“I have struggled with critiques,” Wallace said. “I’m like, ‘why would you tell me I did something wrong? I’m always right.’ But, that’s the only way you improve, is if you’re able to listen to critiques and not take them to heart.”
Wallace has grown to embrace this and improve her skills through working to overcome challenges she is faced with.
“The thing I love most about theater, you’re always learning,” Wallace said. “It’s always something new. It’s always a new challenge. And, I think that’s what I love. I hate being bored. So, anything, anything that gives you a challenge, I think a person should always attack headfirst.”
Vardaman has seen how Wallace uses this mindset to help other students with their own talents.
“Shaunessy has given me an energy to always keep trying and go at things from a different angle and keep challenging students, even when they don’t think they want to be challenged,” Vardaman said. “Because, she always asks to be challenged.”
Junior Max Redcorn described her ability to stay humble even with the talent she has.
“She’s a really wonderful person,” Redcorn said. “She’s amazing and very talented. She’s the best singer I know … I think that it’s really common for people to get a really big head, especially when they’re absolutely that talented, but I feel like she’s done a really good job of humbling herself.”
Theater teacher Gabriel Heffernan described how she maintains her own self within her roles.
“She definitely carries herself in a role and in a character,” Heffernan said. “A lot of people kind of tend to disappear into a role, or they try to do that, and Shaunessy holds onto a little bit of herself, which I think makes it pretty authentic … her true personality always shines through whatever character she’s done.”
Wallace has received awards at KMC for Best Lead Actress as the narrator in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” and for Best Supporting Role as the nurse in “Romeo and Juliet.” She has also received the Atlanta Youth Achievement Award for best upcoming artist and a scholarship for best solo audition. After high school, Wallace intends to study musical theater in college and continue to perform.
“My favorite thing about singing is probably evoking emotion out of people,” Wallace said. “Just to hear anybody tell me, ‘your voice brought me to tears’ or just be like, ‘your voice had me smiling.’ That is enough for me to want to do musical theater, theater in general for years to come.