BWW Blog: Future Fever and the Homestretch

Finals and end of the year events can be difficult and exhausting for MT majors; however, what can be even more stressful is trying to find productive theatre work for the summer. There are tons of auditions for summer stock, internship interviews, and recording sessions for video auditions. It is impossible to juggle auditioning for multiple places with school work and rehearsals for college productions.

I made a list in November of different jobs and intensives that I would be working towards in the next semester. I filmed audition videos and attended SETC to try to find jobs for the summer. When you are from a different place then where you go to college, there is also the issue of housing. Finally I got accepted and decided to attend the Fordham Summer Musical Theatre Intensive. This program allows me to receive college credit while I work in New York. However, before I go there I have to finish out my spring semester.

Taking finals as a Musical Theatre major can feel very isolating on a public university campus. You are taking finals that you don't spend hours in the library studying for. You have to memorize scripts, lyrics, and dance combinations instead of formulas or pages of notes. However, I feel that my outlook on theatre and my willingness to be introspective has blossomed over the course of this year.

Before coming to college, I had a voice teacher and took dance lessons and acting lessons, but I always felt like I was just biding my time until my next show. I did not know what it meant to actually study theatre. I would always be just gearing up for my next audition and trying to find material that I could cut to fit certain callbacks. This year actually being given time to just learn a piece just for the sack of learning has made me see the meaning behind pieces; instead of, just seeing how I can use them to my own advantage.

For example, I have to work on a scene for a final, and I just got to do the full scene and have creativity flow through it. It felt so much more freeing than having to cut a monologue to make it 90 seconds or do a cold reading at a callback. While auditioning is the "job" of a working actor, I think having the ability to just learn and explore theatre in college is incredibly rewarding, and it is a blessing that should not be taken for granted. When I go online and see actors who are my age doing these incredible things and getting jobs on Broadway, I start to feel anxious and want to bypass this part of my life.

What I have realized is that while those people are getting to do what they love, I get to not only do what I love, but also learn about what I love and explore new parts of my talent in a safe environment. When I think about how I get to both work and get an education, I feel content and excited for all of my future projects.