local storiesMay 22, 2023

Meet Kelly Tighe

Local Stories

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Tighe . Kelly was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Gabrielle Harris.

Hi Kelly , we’re so thrilled to have you sharing your story with us today. Maybe we can kick things off by having you introduce yourself to our readers? We’d love to have you go into your story and how you got to where you are today.
Kelly Tighe has been acting since the age of 3, when she first stumbled upon the writings of Shel Silverstein and “performed” the poems for her family. A North Carolina native, most summers were spent putting on plays at the prestigious venue…”Grammie’s Front Porch”. She continued her love of performing all the way up through college where she majored in Musical Theatre at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Her proudest accomplishments from that time include performing at The Kennedy Center for the re-opening of the Opera House and participating in the documentary, Defiant Requiem, where she sang Giuseppe Verdi’s “Defiant Requiem” with the Czech Orchestra in Prague.

Moving to New York, she continued her love of outdoor theatre by doing “Shakespeare in the Park” in Central Park with Ten Grand Productions and falling in love with Improv. She also discovered her passion for original content creation, which led her to Los Angeles. This is where the Richard Lawson Studios comes in. In her time with the studio, she has written, shot, directed, edited, and acted in her own short films. Learning to act on film, she became a proud member of SAG-AFTRA, booked various commercials, and has begun an exciting journey with film and television. Most recent credits include Tru TV’s I’m Sorry, and the film A Beautiful Day starring opposite James Brolin. Onstage, she’s been seen in productions of No Place to Be Somebody as Mary Lou and Assassins as Squeaky Fromme. She is also a content creator and co-owner of the production company, MiddleClass Aftermath, where she has produced, written, directed, edited, and starred in several of her own short films and web-related content.

She is a believer in the philosophy that art can change the world in an instant. She teaches because her mentor Richard Lawson helped her create an exciting, and most importantly, a tangible career in the arts, bringing her dreams into reality, and she wants to help others do the same.

Gabrielle Harris has been a great friend to us and I know you’ve got a great relationship as well. Maybe you can tell our audience a bit about Gabrielle and your experience with them.
Gabbie is the reason why I teach. Oddly enough, we have never even met in person and I consider Gabbie to be one of the most impactful students I have ever had. She became a member of Richard Lawson studios as a virtual student. Our theatre is located in Los Angeles, and she is in Texas but she did not let the distance from Hollywood stop her from pursuing her dream. From day one, Gabbie showed up with an incredible attitude despite her challenges. She was determined to out create whatever was stopping her. In the course of her study I have seen her become more causative and driven. She has done all her exercises and scenes in class with bravery, professionalism and excellence. She has discovered her voice as an artist and her purpose to empower other artists, wherever they are, no matter what the circumstances. Watching her find the depth of her emotions, her humor, charm and irony and learning how to put that in her work has been such a gift. Gabbie is an incredible community member. She encourages other artists in class, shows up for them, and most importantly leads by example. Gabbie does not lead with excuses, she leads with her passion and dream. Her dedication to the disability community is and has been clear since day one at the studio. She has helped to educate me as well as other artists in our studio about the disability community. I am so grateful to her for that. I think Gabbie has just scratched the surface as it relates to her work with the disability community. I think her story is inspiring and needs to be heard. I know there are many more like it and storytelling, acting, filmmaking are a real ways to get that expression out into the world. I am dedicated to helping her expand her vision.