Senior Riley Kuever is always in the spotlight. You will see her singing the National Anthem at a local sports game, starring in a new production, or volunteering in the community. Riley has been a part of 17 productions, including the production of Oliver! at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2018. Riley performed 96 shows of Oliver! over the three summer months. Riley said, “I have loved music since I can remember. I have been singing since I could form words, and that love was something I continued in my daily life.” She also loves acting and said, “I was introduced to acting at Pierson and in the musicals we performed there. I loved the ability to create a character and act as a whole different person. I had always known I loved to sing, and that knowledge led me to finding a love of acting and theatre as well.”
In addition to her performing career, she is President of Interact Club, a member of NHS, a member of the Spanish National Honors Society, and the Co Vice President of the Class of 2024 in Student Government. She said, “I have taken several AP and ECE classes, and played volleyball my freshman and sophomore years.”
Riley also attends ECA which stands for Educational School of the Arts. Riley started attending ECA her Junior year. ECA is a magnet school in New Haven that has five departments for the arts. Riley is currently a part of the theatre department and has classes from 1:00-4:10 PM Monday through Thursday. Riley said, “At ECA, I participate in different acting classes. My junior year, I was a part of the Farce acting class (comedy acting), Improv, Origins of Western Theatre, Film Acting, Absurdist Theatre (Sammuel Beckett), Directing, Viewpoints, Shakespeare work, Sonnet Work, I also toured with Improv. My semester classes meet three days a week, and there are quarterly classes on Tuesdays.”
Riley said, “It was a very tough decision for me to go to ECA, I had originally looked into it my freshman year, but after realizing I wouldn’t be able to play sports, like volleyball, I decided not to attend.” She continued, “I really enjoyed playing Volleyball at Morgan, but after my sophomore season, my passion for acting once again brought me to looking at ECA after an alum, Vanessa Horan, posted something about the enroll date for ECA. I then decided to look at it once again, and I reached out to Vanessa, asking questions about the school, and I went to one of the performances in the spring and fell in love with the production and talent I saw. I applied, sending in videos and answering the application questions, then found out I got in around May of 2022.”
Riley, who thoroughly enjoys ECA said, “I love the community within the school. From my first day, I was welcomed with open arms and supported with everything I did. I came in late to the school and was scared because students had known each other for 2 or more years at the point where I joined. As soon as I had my first class, I knew I would be okay.” Riley loves this opportunity, but because of this, she leaves around 11:30 AM and can only take five classes at Morgan. She takes essential classes that she needs to graduate. However, at ECA, she has most of her credits filled, so her schedule is pretty easy to work with.
Outside of performing in plays and musicals, Riley has auditioned to display her talents on a larger scale. She has auditioned for America’s Got Talent, American Idol, and the Young Arts Competition. In the future, Riley wants to get an agent or manager to help her get auditions. Her ultimate goal is to be on Broadway or star in movies or TV shows.
Riley has been super successful throughout the last seventeen years of her life, and hopes to continue to grow and be more successful in the future.
