BWW Blog: My, How Things Have Changed

In May of 2019, I graduated from high school and a month later I was in the car on my way to NYC to attend AMDA's Integrated Conservatory program, which includes dancing, singing, acting & more.

Everything happened so fast but I couldn't have been more ready. The hustle and bustle of the city made me feel whole-- the rush, the weekends in Times Square, running from theater to theater to see what Broadway tickets were left for standing room only shows, meeting new friends at open calls, lunch at the Lincoln Center fountain, sitting in the stillness of the night watching the Met Opera's chandelier sparkle after ballet review. Home.

The day I received an email that I needed to evacuate campus effective immediately, my stomach dropped. I looked at my friend and she looked at me and we froze. Something was about to change. I remember hearing "we'll be back in 2 weeks." That was nearly year ago (woah).

That day I walked by all of the Broadway theatres. They were dark. Literally dark. The lights weren't on, the doors were locked shut. There was nobody there, just silence. It was hard. A day later New York felt a ghost town. Almost like something I'd seen in an apocalyptic movie, but real.

My mom drove 10 hours to collect me and I grabbed what I could from the dorm stuffing my wanna-be LaDuca's and anything else I could think of in the back of my mom's 2005 Durango. The rest of my belongings left in my beloved 100 square foot dorm room awaiting my return. We drove to Columbus, Ohio. And still, here I am 10 months later, in Columbus, Ohio.

I am currently doing AMDA LA online from home. Not to diss Ohio, we have corn and soybean fields, and some stellar theatre companies, some of which where my love for theatre began. I had no idea that this is where I'd be. I wasn't even sure if I was going to continue on to the BFA program. A BFA on a fast track was definitely the path for me.

Over this pandemic my heart has grown fond to the idea of being a teacher. So I knew I needed to snatch my Bachelor Of Performing Arts degree. So many of my teachers have been or are currently working in the industry. Learning from artists who have lived your dream is so inspiring. They give the inside look on what it's like to be on Broadway, go to auditions and callbacks, what it's like to be in movies. And better yet, they train you, they show you the ropes and push you to be the best you can be. It is so inspiring to hear these stories from them each semester.

I've never actually been to LA, yet my belongings have. I'm sure they'll tell me all about their journey from New York to Hollywood when I finally arrive. I am so looking forward to when it's safe enough to return to campus again. I miss the power of being in a room with other people, and I mean physically being there in that room with these insanely talented artists who have the same fiery passion as you do, that feeling is indescribable. And then tears begin to flow, there's just something about creating together, singing together, watching your friend perform the realest and rawest performance they've ever given. Because something inside of them clicked, they took the note, they felt a personal connection, and you saw it click and how lucky was I to experience that almost every day at AMDA.

Whilst I do miss in person with my whole being, I couldn't be more grateful to have the opportunity to create in such an inopportune time. We need art now more than ever. It's there to fill people up, brighten days, make someone laugh, cry, all of it. It's chalked full of feelings and so am I, we make a lovely couple, hoping to be engaged in the coming months or whenever Broadway can reopen safely. But seriously, we will be back. I don't know everything but I know when live theatre returns, it is going to be one of the most magical moments of all. "We'll reach up and we'll rise again"