Student Blogs This Week - Staying Involved in Theatre for Non-Theatre Majors, Reducing Midterm Stress, and More!
Check out what our student bloggers are writing about for the week of October 14 - October 21.
By: Taylor Brethauer-Hamling Oct. 22, 2021
Our student bloggers write about how they're coping with the current global health crisis, give insight on their school's performing arts programs, share their opinions on the latest theater news, and so much more.
Read some of the top blogs from this week below!
Check out more Student Blogs here! And don't miss a single blog by following our Instagram and liking our Facebook page!
Student Blog: Yeah, But Not Right Now
Student Blogger: Kat Mokrynski
Excerpt: Back in September, I saw an announcement on social media that AJ Holmes (apologies, Broadway's AJ Holmes) would be performing a solo show at the SoHo Playhouse. As an admirer of AJ's work who had some time to kill after class one night, I decided to pay the show a visit. After all, the show's blurb claimed that I was going to be hearing about 'the worst, most embarrassing, humiliating, potentially irredeemable parts' of someone I had been a fan of for many years - Who wouldn't want to see something like that? But as I took the subway down to the theater, I couldn't help but wonder what AJ was going to talk about. What had he done? Would I still admire him after the show had ended? Who exactly was AJ Holmes?
Student Blog: Staying Involved in Theatre (for Non-Theatre Majors)
Excerpt: Almost everyone, including myself, expected me to major in musical theatre. It's what I eat, sleep, and breathe. Instead, I'm pursuing a degree in Architecture, but I don't want to miss out on theatre while I'm in college, so I've compiled some ideas for how you (and I) can stay involved in the theatre scene no matter what your major is.
Student Blog: The Campus is Buzzing Again - Frosty's World #16
Excerpt: Beginning my senior year as a major in arts management and entrepreneurship, I've been lucky to get through some of my less-favorite academic requirements. Yes, things that involve math. The Baldwin Wallace University business management portion of the curriculum is especially rigorous. Intermediate-level accounting and economics taught me to admire students who love that material. I have to credit my accounting and economic professors for building my interest. See what I did there? Who would have guessed that you need money to run a theatre, music or arts business? After completing these required courses, my attitude changed from 'Stayin Alive' to 'I Will Survive.'
Student Blog: Time to Talk About DIANA: THE MUSICAL!
Student Blogger: Claudia Quintero
Excerpt: When I was doing my online term, one of my classes was imparted by Bruce Dow, who is one of the best teachers ever. He got to give me feedback on my Musical Theatre performance and gave me tools that I've been using and make my craft and work much more complete. During the time I was taking classes with him, he had to absence a couple classes because he was just casually flying to NYC to film the Broadway Show he was in, Diana: The Musical. One year later, I was able (last week) to watch it on Netflix as it just recently released and I am just blown away.
Student Blog: The Power of 'No'
Excerpt: As actors, we grow up programmed to say yes to everything and everyone. We hear that everyone is replaceable, and if you don't try anything and everything- you get fired. I learned to bend over backwards in order to please people and get roles. Jenny helped us rewrite that narrative. She helped me remember that we don't have to say yes to everyone. We are all just people, responsible for taking care of ourselves. We all deserve the autonomy to choose what makes us happy and safe.
Student Blog: Midterms and Musicals
Student Blogger: Annie Petrelli
Excerpt: This is my first year at college. It can be both exciting and at the same time anxiety-inducing. After finally getting through the fear of move in, a new fear has formed: midterms. While I had semester exams throughout high school, those only accounted for a small portion of my grade.
Student Blog: Dear Trans and Non-Binary Theatre Artists: PLEASE Don't Stop Working
Student Blogger: Meredith Muirhead
Excerpt: Let's face it- theatre can be hard. It's hard when you're a writer, it's hard when you're an actor, it's hard when you're a director, it's hard when you're a designer, and everything in between. When you're an artist, you're constantly working emotionally, mentally, and physically, and the work doesn't always feel rewarding. After all, we create to make ourselves heard and seen, and how does it feel when the art we create is glossed over, dismissed, and ignored? How does it feel when the art that is being put forward doesn't reflect us? Theatre truly is for everybody, so why is it so hard for trans and genderqueer theatre artists (even today!) to find their place? The reality of it is, there's no excuse for why the works of trans and non-binary theatre artists are not given enough recognition. The best way to get that work out there, in all honesty, is to just keep going.
Student Blog: Doubts and Doubles: When Sometime in the Future Becomes Now
Student Blogger: Melis Tavmergen
Excerpt: The midterm season is that time of the year for me. The season of what-ifs. What's different than my yearly mid-term crisis is that this year I actually need to make some decisions for next year, and for the first time in my life, the sense of uncertainty makes me nervous rather than excited.
Student Blog: My October Playlist
Student Blogger: Silvana Flores
Excerpt: Autumn is finally here and what I love the most about this season, besides Halloween, is going on walks or driving alone on my way home and listening to songs that made me feel like the main character of a fall movie. I'm sharing with you my 2021 Autumn playlist that has songs from Hamilton, spooky tunes and also some of my favorite songs at the moment. Enjoy!
Student Blog: Friendly Reminder: Smile!
Excerpt: A smile brings many benefits, one of them is in our health. How is that possible? Simple, it releases endorphins or the 'happiness hormones' which help fight stress, improves oxygenation of the blood as the lungs expand and more air enters, also digestion improves as the diaphragm moves and facilitates the digestive process, and last but not least prolongs life up to 4 more years.
Videos