Student Blog: Theater Things I Am Grateful For This Year

As we move into November and deeper into the holiday season, we are beginning to talk about Thanksgiving and the things we are thankful for this year. Personally, I have a lot of things to be thankful for outside of the theater, including that I, and everyone I love, are healthy, safe, and thriving this year. But, I also have a lot to be thankful for within the theater world and community. I think that it is incredibly important for everyone to be able to sit down and think about what we are thankful for during this crazy year.

The first thing I can think of when I think of what I am grateful for is the community that I have found myself in due to my work and studies in the theater. There are so many wonderful people who I have met within the theater world. Some of them are friends, some are professors, and some are professionals. They are all people who believe in me and have pushed me to be the best professional and student I can be. When I began this semester, I remember not really knowing anyone, having a couple of friends who I met over Zoom, and being so terrified to begin classes. But once I got into class and started talking to people, I realized how great everyone was and how much I can learn from others. Something I'm incredibly grateful for is how welcoming everyone was, bringing me into conversations, answering my questions, and becoming my friends. It was both heartwarming and just so relieving to be accepted in this community. The wonderful professors and professionals I have met in the last few years have helped me so much with my career path and deciding what I'm going to do. I am grateful for the people I have met in the theater community.

Another theater thing I am grateful for is the opportunity we have to create theater. After going almost 18 months without in-person theater, being able to sit in a rehearsal room and watch Broadway shows is incredible. I'm currently working on a show at my college where everything has been in-person. Because the pandemic began in the spring of my freshman year, this is the first show I've been able to work on in college. It's an incredible thing to get to watch everyone work and create wonderful art that we have not been able to make in a while. For many of us on this show, it is the first show we've all worked on since the beginning of the pandemic, so it feels very magical. I know from many others who are working in the theater that this ability we have been given back is something we are never going to be taken for granted again.

I am also incredibly thankful for the opportunity to see Broadway shows in person. While there are still issues that I have with the Broadway community and how it operates, I really am wonderfully thankful that I have the chance to see shows in person. There are many people who cannot afford tickets for Broadway shows but I am so thankful that I am able to afford those tickets. I am thankful that so many actors, technicians, front of the house, and more have jobs and are able to work in places that they love.

In the theater community, we have so so much to be grateful for this year. We are getting theater back and we are all finding our place once again. I am thankful for everything we have got and gotten back.