BWW Blog: Whee Tell the Story - Back in the Swing of Things

Ah! I only just finished the first day of classes and we're already back in the full swing of things! I flew back to campus this past Sunday and had one day to rest and get situated before starting on Tuesday. It was bittersweet because I had a nice time relaxing at home, but also was eager to return to my dorm room (I have a single room and decorated it WAY more than necessary as to make it feel like home), see friends, and get back on a schedule.

On Monday night, a bunch of the frosh reunited to throw a surprise belated birthday party for Bre in her room, and it was lovely to catch up with them all before all of the stress and craziness took off. My first class on Tuesday was Philosophy of Love and Sex, which to my surprise, Alaina is taking as well; I'm excited to have a friend there. It's a small class and so far it seems like we'll have some thought provoking discussions. Since I went to an academically rigorous high school, I enjoy my gen eds to provide some variety and give me something else to focus on when the MT work is stressing me out. It's kind of funny, because many college students take theatre classes as their electives to give them an outlet away from their majors, and I'm taking philosophy to give me an outlet other than Musical Theatre. Also, learning more about human connections will hopefully help me become a more honest actor, because everything relates back to acting, somehow.

After Philosophy, I headed to Voice and Articulation with Claire Eye. This is a class I've been looking forward to, but also was slightly nervous for, because it will require me to think about my voice and body in a new way. It includes all of the freshman BFAs, so I'm excited for a chance to be together as a group, as we don't have identical schedules like last semester. We discussed how our voices sound from our own observation, and what we need to work on, and then played some theatre games to warm up and get comfortable as a group. Theatre games are high key my jam, from playing Zip Zap Zop and age 9 at The Lost Colony's theatre arts camp, I've loved them, and it's the only thing I let myself get competitive for. We were assigned an initial 2-3 page reflection on how our voice/breathing/posture works which I just finished before writing this post, and I'm pumped to see how those ideas change after the course.

My last class on Tuesdays/Thursdays is Tap 2, which includes one other freshman (my friend Kirsten), and a variety of upperclassmen. This is drastically different from Tap 1, which consisted solely of my fellow frosh MTs, and was a little intimidating at first because of my younger status, but Kirsten and I held our own. The combos were more challenging than the previous semester's, and it was a struggle, but hopefully with all of the dance tutoring I will not die! One of my dance tutors, Alexa, is taking the class as well, which will be very helpful. Tap 2 includes more improv/creating our own choreography, and Kirsten are planning on doing an honors contract for the honors college that involves choreographing a duet. Later this week, I'll be tapping more, begin dance tutoring, and Ballet 1, so lots more to come on that front.

Classes finished at 3:15PM, so that left plenty of time to get started on homework. I'm trying to get ahead this week because on Saturday I'm going to the Women's March in Asheville with some friends, and I want time to make some musical theatre related feminism signs for everyone. Mine is going to say "keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers" with a picture of Rizzo, and I still have to brainstorm for some more. We shall see how the rest of this week goes! Wish me luck as I attempt to be graceful in Ballet!