What do you do when you get to senior year and realize this will be your last call for places or last 5 minute warning? Here's how I, Student Writer Destiny, will be handling my senior year.

My biggest piece of advice to anyone starting the college process would easily be to stay as organized as possible: communicate with your teachers and people who have gone through it before, Google Sheets is your friend, and remember your “Why.” Keep your passion at the forefront and you’ll have and endless supply of all the motivation you could ever need.

Advocating for yourself helps you understand your worth as you take control of your career. The best part is- you don’t need to rely on anybody else to exercise these habits. In fact, even if you have representation to advocate for you, seeking out opportunities for yourself is still vital.

The feeling of rejection is difficult, to say the least. It can be heartbreaking to get rejected from any opportunity you really wanted. Whether it’s a job, an audition for a school musical, or anything in between, getting rejected can be painful. It may even seem impossible to cope with at first. However, I can assure you—as someone who’s been rejected many times—that it is not the end of the world.

Who protects your favorite shows from illegally being reproduced? Who ensures your favorite artists are being fairly paid? Who makes sure marketing for your favorite shows is appropriate and legal? Entertainment lawyers.

The idea of senior year is indeed quite daunting; It’s the last year of school for most people, and you are expected to have a good idea of what you are going to do post graduation. So yes, senior year comes with a lot of expectations, but remember that you are still a student!

Fighting burnout is hard. I truly do love what I do yet there are moments that it is all just too much. Burnout sucks and that’s never going to change, but having an identity away from your professional and academic work is deeply important. 

As the Summer theatre season is coming to a close, I think about how fortunate I’ve been to see as many shows as I have this year. I’ve been seeing lots of live theatre as of late, including but not nearly limited to The Prom at Playhouse on Park, The Mystery of Edwin Drood at The Goodspeed Theater, and Cabaret at The Kit Kat Club on Broadway. While I try to see shows as often as I can, really taking the time to see as much as I have been lately has really reminded me of the importance and value of seeing live theatre as a performer myself– something I wanted to cover for this month's topics!

This semester, I’m continuing my education abroad in Vienna, Austria!! Though I will not be directly studying theatre in class, there will be many ways I can expand my theatre knowledge out and about in Vienna. I’ve put together a bucket list of things to do this semester to keep my theatre education alive outside of the classroom!

It’s finally that time of year again: college move-in season! As a sophomore, I remember my freshman year all too well. While I came in feeling prepared, there was a lot I didn’t know. There’s a lot of advice out there aimed at helping students, some of which I wish I had known last year.

School is just around the corner and you may be right in the midst of packing and thinking through move-in.  I am currently looking at my third year and thought maybe an unsolicited list of important things I have found may ease at least one person's mind.

I’ve got a lot going on, (big shock) but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I can’t wait to see what this semester holds. It’s going to be a great one!

Prior to being cast as Hans, I had already been assigned to research him as part of my duties as a dramaturg. Naturally, as soon as I found out I would be playing the role, I consumed every piece of media related to him and his life that I could.

There are many things in our world today that make burnout far too common among current high school and college students. So, it is inevitable that you will one day experience burnout. School is designed to challenge you and make you stronger at what you do, but there will always come a time where it may feel like too much.

The JMU Studio Theatre has been making student produced, directed, and written work for a while now. Two students who are very closely involved with the theatre are Jamie and Stella. I decided to interview them on what the Studio Theatre is and how it supports students in the JMU School of Theatre and Dance.

I learned so much in the 10 weeks I spent in New Hampshire doing summer stock–from the ubiquitous Dunkin's to how to use certain power tools. Here's some of the highlights!

Burnout is never great but developing coping skills early on in a safe educational setting can help you as you advance in your theatrical career. I know it has for me!

It was the end of my sophomore year in college, what we not-so-jokingly called “Sophomore Slaughter,” when I experienced burnout for the first time. I thought anxiety was bad, but this? Oh, this was a whole new level. Read my blog to learn about my experience with burnout and some tips & tricks to help beat it!

I could yap and yap and yap about this camp for days. I know it sounds cliche and silly, but I truly am the most real version of myself when I am there. Walking through the doors always feels like I’m coming home.

Senior year has already been one like no other, and I look forward to continuing to update my blog with all the exciting events that take place over the course of the remaining 164 days until graduation!

I think it is easy to look at rejections and jump to conclusions about your worth or talent. I try to avoid these thoughts and, instead, process the ways I can improve my performance for the next audition. I now understand that being considered as the perfect fit for a role is subjective.

As many college students do, I arrived on campus and was shocked by the amount of time I had. There were 2-3 lectures a day and I often had good breaks between them. I thought I was living the life! However, as we inched further into the semester and rehearsals started to amp up for the production of Rent I joined, I quickly found myself lost.

One of my favorite things to watch on YouTube and TikTok is rehearsal bag packing; it is, truly, something I will never scroll away from. So, I have compiled a list of my own rehearsal bag necessities and how I pack for tech week!

Navigating a busy schedule can be challenging, but with the right tools, you can turn chaos into order. Discover how digital calendars, task management apps, and communication tools can help you effectively balance coursework, theatre commitments, and work responsibilities. Dive into practical tips and strategies to stay organized and productive in all areas of your life.

When you’re an incoming college freshman, it can be very overwhelming. One of the most concerning aspects for these students is their dorm rooms. More specifically, what to bring to their dorm rooms. I was also struggling with this last year, as the thought of packing left me feeling very stressed.