Student Blog: Shaped by the Arts

Anybody who holds a deep, profound passion for theatre, film, and music will be familiar with this, these fields are often overlooked and undervalued. However, I argue that these fields are the most fulfilling, these fields show what it means to be a human being by using your gift and talent to uplift everyone even in darker times.

I remember as a child, every Christmas, my family and I would go to the Christmas Panto, this was such a key stand out in my childhood. I remember being in awe at the talented young performers who sang renditions of popular songs from that year and from before, there was something spectacular about that atmosphere, it felt like home. It was a space where everyone was exposed to joy and happiness and none of that went away during the almost two hours we spent in the small theatre place. Even afterward, there was an adrenaline that kept us running with an excitement to return for next year's panto. I remember being so excited every summer when the theme of the show was announced. This is a tradition that is still prominent in my life.

This prompted me to attend drama classes growing up and eventually, I was given opportunities to perform in a smaller-scale panto like I had become familiarised growing up. I remember how freeing and rewarding it felt to get up on that stage and perform and showcase all the hard work that was months in the making (you could argue that this was the moment that somebody had been waiting for their whole life). This honestly prompted me to decide the degree I was going to undertake in university after spending much of my childhood acting and performing, I decided as a young adult that I wanted to experience the other side of acting, being the one behind the camera and luckily with the degree I have chosen I am exposed to many opportunities to work with skilled actors and bring my practice to life.

As a young adult today, I still feel a longing to the theatre girl inside of me. My favourite passion has to be musical theatre, anytime I travel to London, a stop at the incredible West End is a must. Nothing quite beats it as honestly I have experience quite a thrilling sensation unlike being at one of these incredible performances. They are the best of all words, music and performance intertwined in one prompting something for everyone.

I know nothing greater and I feel nothing more powerful than witnessing a great theatrical performance, there is something so fulfilling found in the arts that are absent from other career fields that I think it is vitally important that everybody regardless of their interest experiences this once in their life. There is something so powerful about people sharing their talent with the world that it cannot go unnoticed, their talent is power that they choose to share with us to invite us to open up and explore that side of ourselves that otherwise scaringly enough could have remained locked up forever.

My love of theatre, film and music is going nowhere, it has become a true essence of who I am and essentially that is what I love about the arts, its ability to shape a person is profound. I will happily always be known as that devoted theatre girl as this is what brings me joy and makes me see the world through a different lens.