BWW Blog: What High School Theatre Taught Me

Wednesday, May 29, 2019. This was the day of my high school theatre program, the East End Players (EEP) end of the year banquet at the end of my senior year. This was the last day I was going to be a part of the EEP. It's an interesting thought really, being a part of something so transformational in one's life and suddenly one day it's gone. My high school theatre experience was unpredictable, but to me, unpredictability makes me strive to be a stronger learner and a better performer.

One thing high school theatre taught me was the power of creativity and how that creativity lives and flourishes with the power of a group effort. What I find most remarkable about high school theatre is how collaborative it is and how many intricate pieces are put together by a group of people. In April of my junior year, I volunteered to be the director of a fundraiser show that the EEP would be putting on in September of my senior year. With my friend and fellow thespian as my co-director, we could feel the collaborative nature of our show blossom into something that was quite rewarding. While I've always known good theatre is collaborative, this was the moment where I truly realized that and to me, it made my job easier and more difficult at the same time. The more shows I become involved in, the more I understand about how important collaboration is. While it can be stressful going into a production, the outcome is so rewarding and extremely inspirational and makes me want to keep being involved in productions because it makes me so satisfied with the work I put in, and all of the other hours of hard and work and dedication put in by everyone else in the production. No matter one's role within a production, every role is responsible for the success of that show due to the power of collaboration.

Another factor that high school theatre taught me is the gift of trust. Trust is a vital ideal to not only a healthy relationship, but also to a group of people developing a production. To me, collaboration and trust go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. Everyone involved in a production needs to trust in one another. There are multiple forms of trust within producing a production. The directors need to have trust in the actors to learn their lines, understand their character, and have their actors work with one another to create the director's vision. The actors need to trust in the director to stick to their vision, be open to discussing their thoughts on character choices with the director, and giving it their all. Trust is something thespians should be able to rely on, no matter what role they serve within a production. An example of trust I can think of goes back to my junior play, The Odd Couple, where I had the honor of playing Oscar Madison. Within that production, I felt there was a strong sense of trust among this small cast. While we were small in numbers, our level of trust in each other was boundless. With that sense of trust we had for each other, made it one of my favorite shows I've ever been involved in. It was an unforgettable experience and I am so grateful it taught me the lesson that trust is vital to having a successful production.

So when it's time to first learn that monologue that seems like it goes on for pages, putting on stage makeup for the first time, or basking in the glory of the curtain call for a defining moment of camaraderie among your castmates, be sure to not take any of it for granted. Because once it's over, it's over. When it was time for me to leave me the EEP, it was a very bittersweet moment. I was sad because I was about to leave a program that changed my life for the better. I was also looking forward to my future experiences attending college for a degree in Drama to expand my knowledge within the theatre arts.While I am unsure where theatre will take me in the future, I know that the theatre of my past has made me who I am today. It helped me expand my horizons, attempting new experiences within the theatre arts. But most importantly, it has inspired me to become a better thespian. If I'm being completely honest, I really miss my high school theatre experience. It gave me a massive amount of opportunities that allowed me to grow and learn more as a performer but more importantly, as a person. I've had the pleasure of meeting so many talented people over that time, and have a director who became a mentor and whose work and expertise still impacts me to this day. Today, I have not done much performing due to my major not being performance based. However, my love and passion for theatre has not been diminished, it has expanded. While I do not know the next time I will be on the stage, I know the stage is in my heart, and that is where it will remain.