Student Blog: You Graduated, Theatre Kid! What Comes Next?

Summer is right around the corner, which means commencement season is rapidly approaching. This may not be a big deal to many, and it may not apply to whoever is reading this either. But it applies to me, in this moment. I am a senior in college, preparing to exit with a degree, which is a huge accomplishment in itself, I know, but it is also terrifying. Yes, reader, I am terrified. I have spent my entire life in school, from when I was a toddler to now, as an adult. Though I have had many run-ins with "the real world," I know that it is about to hit me in a major way. Maybe you can relate. I imagine this wouldn't be as stressful if I were aiming to be a doctor, or a lawyer, a dentist or even a mechanic. Then I'd know that no matter what, I'd have a job. There'd be good work to do, honest work, and it would be pounds of stress removed. But that is not the case. I have never wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, dentist or mechanic. For my entire life I have wanted to tell stories. I have wanted to make art. I have wanted to pick up a pen and fall in love for a living, everyday. I have always wanted that to be my life. And if you are reading this and are on this website, then I know you have an idea about how the arts are generally viewed in society. They will say "Get a real job," they will say "That sounds more like a hobby" or "How are you going to feed yourself doing that? They call it 'starving artist' for a reason."

I have done a pretty good job muting such voices for the twenty two years I've been breathing the air of this earth. And I've muted those voices by putting in twice the amount of work than was expected of me. I have always had to do this simply being a young man of color. People expect you to fail no matter what. Statistics say you're born guilty of crimes you'll never commit. So what do you do - how are you supposed to function - when you're already juggling those expectations in addition to desiring a life in a field that is not only hard to get into, but one that does not always let people who look like you into the important rooms? I am not writing this because I have an answer. I cannot ease your confusion or stress about where we go from here, because I do not know.

I discovered theatre in high school and instantly fell in love. From the minute I stepped on stage I knew my life was changed, that I had found the place where I belonged. I became a playwright because I was not seeing myself represented in the shows that were being performed in front of my eyes on stage. I do not come from a family that could afford expensive training or conservatories. I went to a public high school with a lackluster art program. Every card has been set up against me. But as a writer I must not only rewrite my own stories, but rewrite those expectations. I know that this is not very linear and it may not make any sense at all, but I feel this is a problem for a lot a people, a worry that many feel. What comes next? After we walk across these stages and take off the caps and gowns. What comes next? After the assignments end and life is no longer dictated by a professor's schedule or syllabus; after the curtain closes. What comes next? That's the thing-- nobody knows. There is no right answer. And if there is no right answer, there is no wrong one. There will be good days, there will bad ones. There will be wins and there will be losses. There will be rejection letters and weeks where no one calls. There will be jobs that we do for the sake of our stomachs, not our souls. And there may be none of those things. We may all walk off campus and become superstars. Again, that's the scary beauty about it-- no one knows. There is no crystal clear yellow brick road for us to march down. It is dark and foggy and uncertain. But we do what we love. And as long as we lead with that love, and as long as we keep working twice as hard to reach the goals we know are graspable, there is nothing that can stop us.

Summer is right around the corner, which means commencement season is rapidly approaching. All that means is that the next phase of life is priming itself to begin. All that means is that there is nowhere to go but up. So let's open the curtains and start the next act of our lives. Don't worry. It's showtime.

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