Student Blog: Back To School

If I were to describe this semester so far in one word, I would say busy, however, I have a sneaking suspicion that that will be my word of choice for EVERY semester. Leading up to the start of this semester, my cohort was told (or warned, depending on who you ask) by fellow students and faculty alike that sophomore year will be the busiest because it is when we start really delving into the craft and training, whereas freshman year for performance majors at Ohio University is very introductory and sets up fundamentals for the preceding three years. Here is a glimpse into the life of a BFA Musical Theatre student in their fall semester.

Mondays and Wednesdays begin with Class Piano II from 9:35AM-10:30AM. After that is our dance class. Each semester shifts focus to a different form of dance and this fall is Modern from 10:45AM-11:40AM. Then, I have about an hour break in which I typically grab lunch before heading to Acting I from 12:55PM-2:45PM, where we will be learning the Meisner technique for the entirety of sophomore year. Following Acting I is the final class of the day, History and Literature of Musical Theatre from 3:05PM-4:25PM, which has proven itself to be one of my favorite courses this semester and is undoubtedly the most engaged I have ever felt in an academic based class, during both lecture and discussion days. Despite these two being my busier days class wise, I prefer and enjoy them more!

On to Tuesdays and Thursdays where the day begins on a yoga mat in Voice and Movement I from 9:30AM-11:20AM. After this class is when I take my lunch break before heading to one of my general education courses, Public Speaking, from 12:30PM-1:50PM. It felt like an obvious pick of a class for a performance major! After this, I head to the Prop Shop of our theatre department. The program requires performance majors to work a set amount of hours in a technical department of their choosing. I worked in Props the previous spring semester and found myself really enjoying it, so I made a return this fall. 

Finally, Fridays! Though I am taking no Friday morning classes, the School of Theatre often has something going on during this time, whether that be workshops, guest artists, callbacks, etc. and it is always exciting to have something to look forward to at the end of each week. I find myself in Acting I these days for the same hours before heading to my voice lesson from 3:00PM-3:30PM and just an hour later is Voice Studio where 5-6 people perform every week and workshop with our voice teacher. It is an especially exciting day if I am one of these people performing because I have a half an hour between my lesson and Studio to apply the notes given from my teacher and it is always rewarding to see the improvement in such a short time. 

When I’m not in classes this semester, I am typically making a coffee run (or talking about how much I want coffee, no matter how much I drank in the morning before class), in various meetings, working on voice or piano in the practice rooms, with friends, working on my own passion projects, or watching a movie to unwind with my roommate. 

As we approach week six of classes, I am intrigued to see how the remainder of this semester will unfold and all the valuable things I will be able to take away from it, both as a performer and simply as a person.