Student Blog: Stepping Outside Of My Comfort Zone

It is difficult to decide to voluntarily do something scary. To step outside of your comfort zone, you must consciously decide against your natural habits. As a performer, I have discovered the value of pushing myself to step outside my comfort zone. 

Over the summer, I attended the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory at Paper Mill Playhouse. I suddenly found myself surrounded by some of the most talented young performers on the East Coast. I had never been around so many insanely talented people at once before. And while it may sound foolish, I was genuinely terrified. I specifically remember the first day of auditions. All conservatory members had auditions to get into the conservatory, but we did a second round of auditions on the first day to be placed into groups and assigned solos. I remember watching the other students audition before me and being in awe. Everyone seemed so confident and polished, and I felt out of place. 

I began to feel like I wasn’t good enough to be in the program or to succeed as an actress at all. However, after I eventually got over my initial fear, I made the most progress I have ever made as a performer. I even began to gain some more confidence in myself and my abilities. Being in this new situation forced me to be challenged in ways I have never been challenged before. The new challenges and competition pushed me and helped me improve in tremendous ways. Not to mention the amazing new friends I made! If I had never taken the leap and tried something new, I would never have met so many incredible people. 

My advice for any performer questioning whether or not they should take a risk and try something outside of their comfort zone is to DO IT. No matter the outcome, you will still learn something new about yourself as a performer. Even if you “fail,” you can still make invaluable progress and breakthroughs. It often takes being uncomfortable and struggling to improve. As my dance teacher always says “The complacent peacock becomes a feather duster."