WICHITA – One of Cami Abraham’s earliest memories as a student at Wichita East High School occurred in Derrick Gronewold’s introductory drama class.
 
Just days into her freshman year and with few acquaintances as a newcomer to the school district, Abraham was a bit in her shell.
 
But as Abraham and her classmates quickly learned, Mr. G – as East students affectionately call Gronewold – knew how to break the ice.
 
“He gave us a singing activity,” said Abraham, now a senior. “We were like, ‘We’re in drama class, we’re not in choir.’ We were just all looking around. We were supposed to take one song and connect it to another using key words.

 
“It just went back and forth. At first we were like, ‘He’s actually going to make us do this?’ But as we went through the exercise, we all got 10 times more comfortable with each other.”
 
Gronewold, East’s longtime director of theater, introduced Abraham to the art of becoming at ease while leaving her comfort zone that day. Since then, Abraham, who possesses the pipes to flourish with most singing assignments, has frequently used Gronewold’s method to broaden her acting skills as an aspiring music theater performer.
 
Abraham is this week’s Capitol Federal True Blue Student of the Week.
 
In late July, Abraham’s talents were on full display during Music Theatre Wichita’s latest run of “The Wizard of Oz”. The city’s renowned performing arts organization first produced the classic musical in 1973, a year after MTW was founded.
 
The 17-year-old Abraham auditioned for its fifth run and first in 16 seasons. She was chosen to play the role of Dorothy Gale, the Kansas farm girl swept away in a dream to the Land of Oz.
 
Abraham, a performer in MTW’s teen choir, auditioned with little expectation in January. But after rounds of callbacks, she came home from singing the national anthem at a basketball game to find an email with the subject, “Dorothy Offer”.
 
“It was absolutely incredible,” said Abraham, who performed eight shows in the course of a week with an ensemble comprised of actors and actresses from across the country, including some who attend colleges she is considering. “I learned so much and I got to experience what I want to do in my future.
 
“Just being able to have that opportunity to finally find out that this is what I want to do in college, it was really nice.”
 
The experience gave Abraham the chance to work with director Debra Walton, an MTW veteran who has performed on Broadway. MTW artistic director Brian Marcum, who saw Abraham perform the lead role in East High’s production of “Mamma Mia!” last year, and music director Jesse Warkentin also lent their expertise to assist Abraham in her biggest role to date.
 
It wasn’t Abraham’s first time on the Century II stage in downtown Wichita. After starting years of voice training that continues today with family friend and Wichita vocal teacher Amy Menas, Abraham landed a spot with Music Theatre for Young People, an educational group that works with MTW’s artistic staff.
 
That led her to on-stage opportunities in MTW’s past production of “The King and I” and a children’s chorus appearance of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” among others.


“I tried to tell myself I had done this before and it’s not anything different,” Abraham said. “But in the back of my mind I’m like, ‘Yes, it’s different because you have so many lines to remember and you’re the lead and hardly ever leave the stage.’
 
“It was comforting in a way to know I’d been on that stage. But I was also psyching myself out a little bit, especially the first show.”
 
Abraham summoned her experiences at East, where she has performed in several plays and with various vocal groups, along with playing outfielder and second base for the Blue Aces’ softball team. In her theatrical roles, Abraham has used Gronewold’s tutelage to cultivate her ability to play characters that don’t always mesh with her personality.
 
As the bitter sister Joan in “The Marriage of Bette and Boo”, Abraham developed an edge that belied her pleasant disposition.
 
“We were in rehearsals and we had just started reading the script,” Abraham said. “He said, ‘I need some grit from you. I need you to pull out a little bit of anger inside of you.’
 
“I was like, ‘OK, I’ll try.’ By the time for performances, I had that role. I was like, ‘I’ve got her.’”
 
Gronewold has witnessed Abraham’s transformation from focusing on her own talents to helping fellow students develop theirs. As an officer in East’s drama club this year, Abraham hopes to expose in-school and out-of-school opportunities for actors, musicians and vocalists to perform.
 
“She’s a great person, a great student,” Gronewold said. “She is obviously incredibly talented. But she’s very outgoing and she compliments everyone else on their performances as well. She just brings up everyone around her.”
 
Abraham has made plenty happen in her first three years at East. She has worked with East choral director Jennifer Potochnik to expand her vocal range, singing both alto and soprano to complement the decade-plus years of voice training with Menas.
 
Last week, Abraham auditioned and landed a part in East’s fall play, the comedy “Moon Over Buffalo”. Despite her rising profile as a music theater performer, Abraham wasn’t excused from the casting process.
 
“I hope that never changes because I still want to be challenged,” Abraham said. “Everyone in my class is incredibly talented. I’m being pushed here every day.
 
“I’m still learning and so are they. I’m so glad to have it this way because I couldn’t grow without it.”
 
Earlier this year, Abraham was selected to perform with 10 other youth from across the country in the Kritzerland cabaret series in Los Angeles. Nominated by Menas via video audition, Abraham spent a week rehearsing with actor, director and Grammy-nominated music producer Bruce Kimmel for the culminating performance.
 
Abraham, the daughter of Scot and Gina Abraham, said her initial spark to perform came when she saw a flyer on the wall promoting Music Theatre for Young People auditions for “Cinderella” when she attended an MTW production of “The Little Mermaid” years ago. But her motivation to try to make a career of it came during the 2021 summer season of Music Theatre Kansas City.
 
Abraham landed roles in two MTKC productions – as part of the ensemble of “Something Rotten!”, and her first lead role as Mitchie Torres in “Camp Rock: The Musical”.
 
“Something Rotten! was a huge dance show,” Abraham said. “I was standing backstage listening to this amazing music and watching these talented people tap on stage.
 
“I’m like, ‘We are making a piece of art right now.’ Everyone in the audience was smiling. I was taking in that whole moment and I thought, ‘This is what I want to do with the rest of my life.’”