BWW Blog: Midterms and Musicals

I hate midterms, but I love musicals. I've been having a rough time this week with all the work and little time to enjoy things. Midterms bring me so much anxiety and it sometimes becomes debilitating. I wasn't enjoying my cast recordings, I wasn't seeing any new things, and most importantly I was not motivated to study. I go to Pace University which is located right in lower Manhattan. I have so many amazing opportunities offered to me and it's so easy for me to run by a theatre and see a show. Midterm week was looking really slow and I knew I needed to make a change fast. I decided to reach out to some of my closest theatre friends for advice. I needed some encouragement during this impossible week.

Madeleine Doherty is currently on the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tour. I was really grateful she took the time to reach out to me. "Your job as an actor is to audition well," she told me. "When you go into a room to audition you are planting seeds for the future. You are building your reputation." Though I'm not an actor, this statement resonated with me because I am, in fact, building my reputation. Theatre in college is all about connections. I make connections with my professors and people I admire. It's almost like auditioning. First impressions are everything. "Your auditors know it's a nerve-wracking experience. Embrace it and know you and they are in the room to collaborate." This whole week has been a nerve-wracking experience, but I can't do much about the situation. I only have the power to do well and thrive as much as I can.

Barrett Leddy is a voice actor and he also reached out to me. "Be tough on yourself, be your harshest critic, hold yourself to ridiculously high standards," he told me. "But please be kind to yourself. You will never succeed unless you take care of your mental and physical health." My mental and physical health have been horrible lately! I am my own critic which has turned into self-esteem issues. Everything needs to be perfect, including the way I have formatted and written this blog. It's exhausting when things don't go your way but it's better to sometimes take a step and breathe. Breathing during stressful midterms is helpful when trying to maintain focus.

Reaching out to friends has helped me so much this week. I was able to receive valuable advice that helped me push through my midterms. I feel that everyday tasks have been difficult for everyone and not just me. It could be because of the weather, the political climate, or just personal stresses. I thinking talking to others and getting their take on things helps so much. I am so grateful for the friends that I have. I'm glad they were willing to take time out of their own day and help me during this stressful week of midterms