Courtesy of Ria Abraham
Abraham performs in the school musical “Urinetown” as Little Tessie.At 9 years old, junior Ria Abraham stood under the bright lights of the stage for the first time. Although it might have only been an elementary school musical production of “Annie Jr.,” Abraham immediately fell in love with the stage.
Since then, she has gone on to perform in over 17 different theatrical productions. Some were here at school while others were for community theater groups.
When Abraham first took part in “Annie Jr.,” she was in the supporting role of the “crybaby” orphan Tessie. However, once she took the stage, the director saw her talent and decided to cast her for additional roles.
“As an introvert, I felt like I was able to express myself to the fullest potential on stage, and the fact that the director saw talent in me meant a lot to me at that age,” Abraham said.
While performing in musicals, Abraham discovered her love for singing. After her first musical, she started private singing lessons and joined Hindustani music classes to further her passion for it.
Now, she performs in the school choir program as well as several honor choirs — highly competitive organizations that bring the best singers in their regions together for intensive rehearsals and performances.
Said Abraham: “I really love the feeling of singing in a community. It’s so powerful when you’re singing with people and singing harmonies together. You build a community, and it’s been a way that I find a lot of my friends.”
Outside of onstage activities, Abraham also cohosts her own podcast, “The Fast Breakdown,” which focuses on women’s sports — specifically women’s basketball. Abraham and close friend Medha Sunkara, record 30-minute episodes covering a variety of topics including WNBA draft picks, NCAA March Madness coverage and updates on offseason and in season players.
Over the past few months, the podcast has seen rapid growth, with its most viral video reaching almost 1,500 views on YouTube. The two also actively post on The Fast Breakdown TikTok account where they have seen an increase in viewership and engagement.
“Filming the podcast with Ria is so much fun and it’s amazing how she’s able to have such a long day but still show up ready to film,” Sunkara said. “Anytime I call her she’s always busy working on something whatever time of the day or week it is. Her work ethic inspires me to continue to work hard everyday and is a great quality to have in a friend.”
In addition to her onstage activities and podcast on the side, Abraham participated in Mock Trial this past winter season as a witness. Although the competition centers around legal arguments, Abraham says the activity still feels deeply connected to performance.
“When you get up on the stage [as a witness], it’s really about giving the performance that the judges want. It doesn’t matter if your words have the most logical argument, if you can’t articulate them,” Abraham said.
Although Abraham’s activities may seem disconnected at first glance — from theater to Mock Trial to sports podcasting — each one is rooted in her strong passion for performance and connection.
“She’s such a driven and passionate person but she’s also super easygoing,” Sunkara said of her friend. “Regardless of what it is, she’s never going to say no to something because she’s always ready to try new things and jump headfirst into new experiences.”.
For Abraham, performing was never just about being on stage in front of an audience but about gaining a voice and expanding from the once shy child into someone confident with a strong community who share her common love of performing.
“No matter what activity I’m doing, I’m still performing in some way,” Abraham said. “That’s the part of myself that connects everything together.”
