Coming back to school this year was a difficult transition. I felt a little bit cheated out of my freshman year, as I am sure so many can relate to. Between online classes and limited activities and clubs, meeting people and feeling connected was difficult. This year, I decided I wanted to seek out hope and connection through my passions.

Over the summer, I learned that self-care is super important for myself. Now more than ever, I am realizing that I need to continue doing this self-care as it can be easy to get overwhelmed with my busy school schedule, homework, a part-time job, rehearsals, and a packed social calendar. I thought I would share some of the ways that I have been keeping calm and recharging myself after long days of classes and rehearsals this year:

Everybody—whether they were involved in theatre on campus or not—was hungry for a sense of community. They wanted somewhere they could congregate, somewhere they could be loud and support their peers. Finally, after what felt like ages, I finally saw the live performance that I love return: raucous, joyful, loud, and spectacular.

This past September, I got a new job working in the front of the house at The La Jolla Playhouse. My job title, Audience Concierge, includes many patron services responsibilities including checking vaccine cards/ID upon entering the theatre, ticket scanning, helping ushers, being available in the lobby during the show, and locking up. Working in the front of the house has given me lots of insight into what working in a professional environment is like while also teaching me about another aspect of theatre that I did not know much about coming into the job.

If you're reading this, chances are you can point to times in your life when musical theater was there for you, helping you through your lowest moments. Musicals can provide much-needed catharsis, an escape and a relatable storyline. Sometimes, musicals can also remind us of the power we hold. They help us tap into our inner strength and make us feel like we have the capacity to save the world—or burn it to the ground.

Hello, BroadwayWorld readers! I’m Brighton (they/them) and I’m a current senior at Marymount Manhattan College on the Upper East Side of New York City! I am studying for my BA in Theatre Arts with concentrations in Directing and in Theatre & New Media.

'What makes a successful actor?' is a question I hear all too often at workshops and intensives, questionnaires, and even in classes. A question with no defined answer, open to perspective and experience to guide it. A question that prompts me to raise another, much more important question that I find somewhat synonymous; 'what makes an educated actor?'

Need some spooky showtunes to jam to this weekend? Look no further!

BroadwayWorld.com Student Blogger Sarah Tennille shares her experiences in her first month in college, including the highs and lows of life in New York City and the struggles of a conservatory education.

This is one question. Yet, one question holds a myriad of answers. How do we respond to this? We go back to the basics. We try to search for answers in their most complex forms, when in fact we should be looking for them in their most simplest forms. Simplicity goes with the purest of things. What makes you smile? Do you feel at home? Do you feel natural when doing things or do you feel forced? Does it feel like new every time?

Everyone’s a star in the park: the street performers masked in paint, the dimpled, grey-haired lady blowing bubbles for the passersby, and even you, a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed 17-year-old college student whose only objective is to breathe in the vibrance of your new home.

Throughout developing a theater degree, there are so many opportunities to bring material to class and work with what inspires you. It is important to make firm choices rooted in the values you can fall back on and return to maintain an excitement with your selection. Since there are so many experiences based on your own choices of material, take solace in the fact that there are so many times that you can explore different works.

Music is your number one empathizer. Every genre, every song, and every lyric to me represents different people to depend on to find solace or simply as an escapade from ennui. Especially since I associate much of my musical erudition with my parents' and grandparents' upbringing classics along with the new music I grew up with, you're exposed to a whole universe of magic that can really cheer you up at any given time. It's also something I take to heart since I've sung throughout my life and just always look further than just how music makes me feel, such as analyzing the instruments utilized or how harmonies were built to make a fabulous syncopation, and blah-blah-BLAH. I shan't bore you with that since I'm not a music teacher. But, I revel in the fact that music can solely convert itself into an act of leisure to a lengthy encyclopedia of rhythms that I must observe and then learn from.

We received such a great response from the audience. It was great to receive such a positive response for something all of the cast and the director/writer himself put so much hard work into! We created an original production in seven weeks. Plus, it was the first live performance back at my school since the COVID-19 outbreak. Being a part of this production was such a breath of fresh air, wholesome, fun, and positive experience. This really made me see a different side to what theater can be when we forego 'normal'. If you ever get the opportunity to work on a new production you should go for it!

Two weekends ago was my fall break at the University of Pittsburgh. I decided to spend my long weekend travelling back home to Maryland to see my family and friends. I caught up with friends in person, spent some time with my family, attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival and stopped by my old high school during a rehearsal for their upcoming musical.

A couple of weeks ago, I was the stage manager of “The Golden Era”, a Tap Dance show directed by Carolina Guzmán, my tap teacher and mentor. The show managed to take the audience on a journey back in time, to a jazz club in the 40’s, with a live jazz band and tap dancers swinging along with the rhythm. Being part of this show was a big deal to me because tap is part of who I am.

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. The NYC Halloween Dog Parade, student directing, dealing with homesickness, handling time management, and more-- read the latest from our college student bloggers!

Although he was my teacher, I, and many other students, considered him a friend. He was one of the easiest, most enjoyable people to talk to, and he always found the good in those around him, even if there wasn't much good to find. [...] If I were tasked with characterizing a great theater teacher, I would give them every trait of Mark Guerra. If I were tasked with characterizing a great human, I would give them every trait of Mark Guerra.

As safely as you possibly can, go and see live theatre. Be present and loud in both energy and applause. In a time as exhausting and difficult as this, connecting with others might be the most fulfilling thing you can do.

While many countries are stabilizing and allowed to sing in groups of more than 5 people, here in Singapore, we are still cautious. [...] We were ecstatic from just singing and it felt so emotional. Yes, just like you’ve watched the first rehearsal of all the musicals reopening on Broadway and West End. That was the same feeling we had.

This past week, I interviewed Roxanna Lewis, director of the film Mandy’s Voice. The film entails the story of “a curious and intelligent non-verbal autistic girl [who] struggles to communicate. Her mother is desperate to provide the necessary tools for survival in a world where if one is without a voice ~ one is invisible to the world as well.” 

Hi Friends! My name is Lana Sage (She/Her). I am currently attending Boston University for my BFA in Acting with a musical theatre concentration ('25). In my first blog, I contemplate my lack of homesickness and acceptance of the loneliness I've experienced my first two months of college. I hope to remind myself of the necessity that is change.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and there’s no place to celebrate it like NYC. My favorite NYC Halloween event, by far, are the Halloween dog parades! This year, I attended the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade at the East River Park Amphitheater, and it was simply wonderful.

The magic of being in a rehearsal room again, of watching a cast perform without a script in their hands for the first time again, of tearing up and getting chills from a powerful moment on stage again-- they’re all parts of putting a production together that I didn’t even realize how much I missed. After waiting over a year for live theatre to return at LIU Post, I am currently assistant directing our production of The Laramie Project! Here's everything you need to know about our rehearsal process so far since we open this weekend.

Alex Wyse and Ben Fankhauser have joined forces to write and star in A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet, a new musical off-Broadway. The show is “is everything you want the first new musical premiering in NYC to be: whip-smart and stupid funny, packed with songs as catchy as a jingle.” I had the opportunity to see Regina Comet this past weekend and had such a fun time!