As I finish out my first year of college as a Theatre Performance/MT major in New York City (omg), I am reflecting back on the best purchases I made for my time in school this year and for future endeavors. If you are going to college for Musical Theatre, Acting, Dance, Vocal Performance, etc. this list could be helpful for you!

I'm back with another post on BURNOUT. If you're a college student, or any type of student (or a typical functioning adult), you probably know what I'm talking about. Burnout is a feeling that is almost unavoidable and sometimes it sneaks up on you before you even realize it is happening...

Type can be a tricky topic. While it is important not to put yourself in a box as an actor, it is also smart to understand that sometimes people are going to expect certain things from you based on your appearance, your energy, and how they perceive you.

In order to keep up my daily training, I knew I needed to find a personal routine that I could uphold whether or not I had room in my budget for classes, coaching sessions, and lessons.

Academic integrity is incredibly important to me. It’s resisting temptation to take the easy route while also having the courage to do the right thing. While it may be appealing to look up the answer or have someone else do the work for you, it’s incredibly important to resist doing so. In the long run, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by remaining honest.

I got home from school two weeks ago, had graduation, and now that my break has finally started… I have a million things to do. While I’m excited to be kicking off a year of no school, coming home for the Summer started what has been a work heavy few weeks of applying for jobs, starting rehearsals for my Summer show, and figuring out how I plan to stay on top of my theatre game while out of school for the upcoming academic year. ​​​​​​​

Surprise! I graduated college! Today marks the one week anniversary of me receiving my Associate’s Degree of Arts in Theatre. While finishing with my Associate’s wasn’t something originally on the bingo card of this school year, it’s something I couldn’t be prouder about and more certain is the right choice for me.

Being a twin is such a blessing, but it does come with the potential for comparison.  I would say, though, our experience in all of these areas has been perfectly complimentary which allowed each of us to find our own niche.

Remember that there are people who are there to help you if you look in the right places. You are given advisors you can go to, but they don't have to be the only people you seek advice from. There are plenty of professors, or even other students, who will be happy to help you create plans for your classes, and back up plans if things go wrong.

Two months into college, I auditioned for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. I was not cast in the show. After moving on from the frustration of rejection, I began to say “yes” to every opportunity that presented itself. These led to new experiences, a job, and an exciting internship! Read this article to learn about a few of my 'Yes's.

So you’ve finished the college audition process. You have received your rejections and your offers. So now what? How do you decide where you are going to commit? To help the next generation of theater majors or anyone still deciding, here are the top criteria I considered when making my final college decision!

I hope to not get too repetitive in my blogs, but there is a lot to say about the shy girl who loved theater (aka I wrote a letter to my younger self because I'm proud of her and I hope she feels the same way about me).

Playing with Poe’s works and diving into the realm of devising for the first time was a real growth experience for my peers and I. Using experimentation to create a formal script was foreign to all of us, but we ended up creating a piece we were all proud of!

Just this weekend, from the 10th to the 11th, we completed the third year’s run of Women On The Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Show days went by so quickly; some part of me still feels like I have to be there for my 12.30 call time.

'Cheating in academics is only cheating yourself of your potential.'  This is something most have probably grown numb to (including myself) whether or not you actually cheat.  It is so easy these days to throw an essay prompt or a test question into ChatGPT and see immediate gratification. However, the only person cheating actually affects is you.

Living in the city for the summer can be daunting.  What am I doing if I’m not headed to campus, finishing assignments, and working on a multitude of shows? 

No one warns you about how difficult finals are in college (or at least I wasn't warned). Not only are they academically challenging, but the end of the year approaches, all you want to do is spend time with your friends and enjoy the sunny weather. Here's my official warning to you, as well as some advice on how you will make it to the other side!

At last, the week every student dreads—or is excited for, depending on who you ask—has finally passed at my school: finals week. This week holds a lot of bittersweet emotions for me, especially at the end of my first year. On one hand, I’m excited for summer break and to be temporarily done with school. On the other hand, I’m going to miss my college friends and the memories we’ve made. I will not, however, miss taking finals. On that note, here is what a typical finals week is like at my school.

This year I have had the pleasure of being a small part in these graduating senior’s college processes – answering questions along the way and giving advice as they needed it. I am so proud of all that they have accomplished! Now veterans of the college audition process, enjoy some words of wisdom from these 10 wonderful seniors, soon to be college freshmen.

So to you, Burnout, thank you for showing me that I needed a rest, and hopefully I don’t see you again any time soon!

I am eternally grateful for my experience in junior high theatre, and appreciate the foundation that it laid for my future pursuits of academic theatre. The value of theatre education from an early age cannot be overstated, and I encourage any tween who is considering giving drama a try to go for it: you never know what you may find.

We all have that one show that has been ever present in our lives, whether we recognized it or not. Looking back and seeing all of the touch points has, just maybe, been my favorite part. If the title didn’t give it away (I, sincerely, hope that no one is shocked by this), it's ‘Into the Woods’.

Consistently look through casting breakdown sites, learn new songs that suit you, and figure out what materials you’ll need for auditions coming up soon. Be proud of the work that you put in because even if you get cut or don’t get the role, that work doesn’t go unnoticed.

So yes, I still fall victim to feeling like an imposter, but once I get out of my head, I feel so much joy and love for the career that I am in and for the show that I’m in.

Are you experiencing performer burnout, or are you overwhelmed by expectations? As performers, we’re haunted by the dreaded timeline. Who created it? Why do we all believe it? What even is this timeline?