Student Blog: Do It, Pursue Your Passions!

I've been doing theater for nearly 7 years now, and anytime someone asks me why I do what I do, the answer never changes... I do what I do because I love what I do. It's that simple.

Hello all you theater nerds! My name is Emma Watts, and I'm currently a Senior who's studying Theater Performance and Film at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. When it comes to theater, as it is for most people, my journey has been quite unique. If you would have asked me 10 years ago to get on a stage and recite 3 pages of a Shakepearean monologue in front of an audience of roughly 200, I would have cried a little and ran away. But nowadays I avidly seek out opportunities to act, perform, write, direct... pretty much anything that will suffice my need to tell stories. In fact, currently I'm interning at a local digital media marketing company where I'm doing just that.

My primary focus currently is assisting with client projects, such as commercials, projection backdrops for theater and dance, instructional videos, and so much more! It's primarily for my film major, which may beg the question... What am I doing this summer regarding theater? Well, the simple and unfortunate answer is nothing. Yup. I'm not doing any theater this summer. In fact, this is the first summer I haven't been involved in theater since I began doing theater 7 years ago. Now I'm not sure if this is a problem that other performers struggle with, but I've always felt that if I take time for myself when it comes to doing theater, I would fall behind in comparison to other artists, but this past year I've learned that this is very much NOT the case. Take time for yourself y'all! In fact, in the near future, I will be detailing some ways that us as performers can avoid burnout. In the meantime, it's a pleasure meeting all of you theater nerds! I'll be back to chat soon!