Lessons The Theater Has Taught Me

“It was only in the theatre that I lived”- Oscar Wilde

Everyone can say that there is a place where they feel the most at home and safe at. For me it has always been the stage where I consider home. Many years I lived there more than my childhood house or room I had in college. I gained knowledge in more than just the basics of costume design to set construction during my degree. This was a time and place I had learned many life lessons which I have complied my top three below.

To Research

A lot of my time has always been researching this or that when it came to personal interest in a topic. I began having to look into every little aspect from the way a play was written to the background of a character. I had always gone to the library but during those four years I lived there. When I worked on my directing projects, I would have at least 10 plus books checked out for research. What I started to enjoy was looking into the life of others when working on narratives. Learning where people come from and their personal struggles. I think that when we look into a certain situation a person or group of people go through we can understand them better. As a whole I find it important that in today’s world we learn all the facts to learn the truth when we find deception or an issue. Overall with performing, creating, and writing research has become an everyday task for me.

Balance

The concept or ideal of balance has always been a rough one for me. I understood since a child that being a performer you are going to be rehearsing and having shows that will take up most of your time. When I got to college the intensity with what was expected of me, I had to make sacrifices. I had to stop performing in the marching band’s color guard (flags) after 6 seasons and started to restrict social time. There are others’ out there who are in the performing arts or who dedicate a lot of time towards your work can relate with time management and limiting yourself. As much as I enjoyed rehearsing or performing, sleep was very limited for me and I still do not know how I survived. I would spend 24/7 doing homework, my job, theatre work and then try to hang out with friends. It did take me to a burn out. So I had to start working on balancing myself with work and everyday life. I started having fewer classes during my last year of schooling so I would schedule my Friday’s off unless I had to be in the theater. I needed to block out days where I would make sure to see friends as well as school work. Even today I still am working on balancing life so I do not burn out again. I feel that everyone can work on balance, knowing when to stop or slow down and to breathe.

Belief In Self

Believing in myself has always taken a long time to happen. There were times that I doubted and stopped myself from performing . Especially when I received vocal nodes from overuse my voice. I never thought I would be able to perform again. Going into my freshmen year as an undeclared major I soon switched to Theatre, when I felt inside it was my time to go back to the stage. From that point forward it was not trying to prove to anybody I was able to be an actor. I wanted to prove it to myself. For my degree you had to have a certain amount of shows on and off stage. I had so many behind the scenes as a manager and costumer that I put my foot down to perform instead of being used backstage. Senior fall semester the show was Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. I worked hard for the audition learning monologues and preparing for hours No matter what the outcome would be, I knew I gave it my all. When the cast sheet was released I stared at it for a decent bit of time. Cast not only as one of the leads but two. If you do not know of the comedic play, there is are two sets of male twins separated at birth and find each other years later. I was cast as the Dromio set of twins in the show. Which meant that I needed to learn double the lines and had the opportunity to play male characters. Thinking to myself I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me. The director decided to have the costumes and characters’ to be clowns. So I had worked on doing my own stunts, learning ventriloquism, having two separate clown personalities and running to be in two parts of the stage at the same time. I did have moments where I was unsure of my ability to do the work. But I said to myself “people trusted and believed in you from the start, you can do it”. By the end of the show, I received wonderful complements from others but for myself I felt accomplished. I had a goal to prove to myself I am capable to take on hard roles and I did it. There was plenty of sweat and tears yet at the end I felt sad the show was done. Since then I have never doubted myself when it came to being on stage working my but off. I was born to be a performer for how ever long I choose to be one.

The lessons I learned have helped me grow as a person. Even they make me feel well rounded. There is something special about being on the stage telling stories. To help others learn lessons or see something in a new light is why I do it. When hearing someone appreciate the performance and feel happy for a short time is the best feeling. I can go on with stories of how and why I have enjoyed helping others through this craft. There were plenty of times where I may have broken bones, injured knees and lost my voice but it never stops me. I do not let it show because I dedicate myself to be on point for each person new or old who may have never seen the show before. If there is anything you would like to know about my experience or would like me to cover a topic from the performing arts comment below!