Student Blog: Views of Theatre Through the Years

Believe it or not, I didn't always enjoy theatre. I have done it for as long as I can remember, but there was about a two year gap when I thought I would be done for good. I wasn't excited about going to rehearsals anymore, I didn't want to perform in front of anyone. Being on stage didn't feel like something I wanted to keep doing. So, I eased out of it by helping with hair, makeup, and crew and then I thought I was done.

Eventually, I decided to rejoin the theatre world by participating in the school musicals. The show that year was Annie and I thought, "Why not? I've already participated in this show twice, how hard could it be?" What I didn't realize is that my director had quite literally been performing in Broadway shows, so this new stage was a difficult one for me to adjust on. I was young and very intimidated, so I did my duty as an orphan and then again, I decided the theatre wasn't for me. I took a break for the next year, but again, something kept pulling me back. The year after, our show was Hairspray and, I mean, who wouldn't want to do Hairspray? This is when it started clicking a little more. I had more friends doing the show and it was clear everyone loved being there. Being in that environment made me excited to be in rehearsals again. I wanted to be on the stage as much as I could. It was such an enjoyable experience and I began to form a bond with the director, so I knew there was no backing out anymore.

Thankfully, from my previous experience with community theatre, I had a few shows already up my sleeve. This helped the next year when we performed Peter Pan. Was it my favorite production to put on? No, but the show didn't matter to me. I was in too deep at this point and as mentioned before, I was growing a relationship with my director more and more. I would stay late after every rehearsal trying to help with anything I could and in my free time, I was discussing all things theatre and Peter Pan with my director. Somehow I managed to be given the role of Nana, after our previously casted person was unable to do it. Again, was it my favorite role? Absolutely not, but I didn't care because I was helping in the show and I was given some more stage time!

Once Peter Pan was over with, I did a summer program called SWADS or Students Who Act, Dance, and Sing. I was able to brush up on my vocal and acting skills and spend more time with our director and musical director. Being in SWADS also gave us the advantage to find out what the fall musical was a little earlier than everyone else. Everyone was so excited to find out what it was. And then, they announced it. "The show is In the Heights!" "In the Heights?" Everyone asked, "What's In the Heights?" Only one person in our group was vaguely familiar with the show since she had performed the well known song "Breathe," but other than that, we were clueless. We all were a bit on the fence about it but our director insisted we would enjoy it. So, she played the opening number on her phone and we all listened and gained excitement about our fall musical. This was the show that changed my view of theatre and made me entirely fall in love with it.

Every single day, I began to drill the music into my mind - both for memorizing and because it was just that good. I had never heard anything like it, and that was exciting. Of course, what Lin-Manuel Miranda show would it be without really fun but really difficult music? But that's part of what made me enjoy it, and theatre, even more. Working through those challenges to make something so amazing was extremely rewarding. I would be remiss if I didn't also talk about our insane choreography our incredible choreographer came up with for us. I would've never imagined myself being flipped in the air and sitting on the shoulders of multiple people, but I did it.

This show made me break out of my comfort zone in so many ways, but it's what I needed to become who I am today. I worked so hard to impress my director who I looked so highly to and she kept pushing me because she knew I had potential. From that, came my first show as one of the leads, and a new me. The challenges were not just theatre-based. It was a whole other battle proving why my director gave me my part, even though she sadly passed before she could see how amazing her work became. Seeing everyone step up to work hard and make this the great show in her memory, makes me appreciate the theatre community as well. We were all put through such heartbreak but the best way we could dedicate something to our director was through this show. And we did just that. And theatre became a part of me that I cannot and will not let go. I do it for my director, for myself, and for others so that they can also experience the joy that is theatre.

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