Biography
Terry McConnaughey graduated from the two-year full-time actor-training program at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts (NCDA) in Washington, D.C., followed by NCDA's intensive and highly competitive advanced program, Actors Repertory Theater (ART). ART is designed to replicate a year's worth of experience in a professional repertory-theater company. NCDA hires experienced local professional directors for ART's public productions in the NCDA black-box, 3/4-in-the-round, theatre. NCDA is the only accredited actor-training program in the Washington, D.C., metro area.
Originally hailing from Washington, D.C., Terry graduated from high school there; and four years later, from McGill University (Montreal) with a B.A. in English.
Terry discovered and developed an appreciation for show business through theater projects from elementary school through college and attending plays in the Washington area, and elsewhere. The early exposure to classical and contemporary plays at theaters like Washington's Arena Stage, National Theater, and the Kennedy Center, augmented by trips to New York with family members and friends, while performing in school plays, planted the seeds of the passion early.
Later in life, good fortune in getting speaking roles while initially only looking for background-actor work to "find out what happens on a set" prompted him to explore additional training in Washington, at The National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts (NCDA) in Georgetown. The theater-based curriculum includes significant on-camera training, and provides experience behind the camera, as well as in front of it. The actor training is based on Constantin Stanislavski's teachings, combined with elements of Michael Chekhov techniques.
He is a retired U.S. Navy commander, lawyer, and foreign service officer. He has extensive military, diplomatic, and intelligence experience, and is conversant with Croatian and French, after living in countries where those languages are spoken. He served in the Persian Gulf (Desert Shield/Storm) and Somalia.
In the time between university graduation and starting his full-time acting career, Terry had a successful career comprised of numerous active-duty stints as a naval intelligence officer over 22 years (mostly on active duty.) Other jobs, in between active-duty stints included: U.S. foreign service officer (Croatia), felony prosecutor (Asst DA in Texas), private law practice, and civilian Department of Defense work. He holds two law degrees--a JD and LLM, from Texas Tech and University of Miami, respectively; and is licensed to practice law in three jurisdictions, where he went "inactive" so as to pursue other passions, because,, as he says, " 'The Law' was just not doing it for me." Accordingly, he refers to himself as "a recovering lawyer."
While growing up in the Washington area, he hung out with his three brothers, playing sports, exploring the outdoors, fishing, shooting and swimming in the nearby woodland and hilly Blue Ridge Appalachian areas of Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, and taking part in some school theater projects.
It took a while for him to find his way out of the 9-to-5 world and get back to the world of the arts. He is happy to be back where he belongs, after a circuitous route through several other interesting careers.
