You're welcome.
Things I learned this summer while studying theatre:
Young children are not the only ones who throw outrageous hissy fits. Grown men and women are just as susceptible. And it's ten times more awkward to watch.
When a professor has a hard time not interrupting students during their presentations, you can earn brownie points by asking for his or her opinion every ten minutes or so. Trust me. It works.
As an actor - or any artist for that matter - it is completely unacceptable to choose apathy when it comes to current events, politics, and culture. Whether or not you care, you HAVE to know. You have to be informed and learn as much as you can about what's going on in the world. An actor must strive to be the most informed/knowledgeable person in the room. If we're not seeking to impact the world - a world that is constantly changing - then what are we doing? And how can we hope to make an impact if we have no idea what's going on? We must keep up with the dialogue of our time.
Failures can be the best tools.
It's important to constantly subject yourself to unfamiliar things. Watch movies that you know nothing about instead of only seeing ones that have good reviews, were recommended by a friend, etc. Find some music from an artist you have never heard of. Listen to all types of music. Look at different art or photography every day. Not only is this important for broadening your perspective, but it's also a great source of the inspiration that every actor/director needs.
It really is possible to have so many plastic surgeries that you are no longer identifiable as the human you were a few years ago. I have witnessed this firsthand.
When a professor begins a story with, "I got picked up at a lesbian bar once..." you know it is time to start a conversation with the person next to you about ANYTHING you can think of with the hope of tuning out the rest of the story.
The best advice I received: "Just press on and do your work."
Yes, the theatre has more technology, but these are changes in appearance, not substance.
Being open can be so rewarding. Sometimes I find myself not even willing to give something a chance. I learned this summer that just being open and available to new ideas and concepts can lead to a lot of learning and understanding. Maybe you'll like what you find. Maybe not. Regardless, the ride is fun. One day I asked one of my professors why he chose to take on one of the more bizarre productions he directed a few years ago. His answer: "It scared the shit out of me...so I did it."
I want to teach students to do creative work, not just copy the commercial stuff they see.
Find something to appreciate in everything.
...
Overall, it was a pretty difficult summer. This year's workload made last year look like a trip to Disney World. There was a lot of drama (no pun intended) going on that made for a lot of tension. And, to top it off, we spent some time studying some very dark and disturbing forms of theatre that made me almost sick every time I walked in the room.
I found myself taking a lot of walks outside to try to process everything. One evening as I made my way back to the house, I sat down on the driveway and just watched the sky for a while. It had been a particularly awful day, but I suddenly felt an incredible reassurance that this was not all in vain. There is a reason. And I knew that someday I would be able to look back and see that all of the struggling, all the tears, all the long nights of studying and rehearsing, and everything else that goes into this fight will be worth it.
It is worth it.
I can't describe the peace that invaded my heart. My dear friend Olivia sent me a card a few months ago that just said, "You are exactly where you should be. You are doing exactly what you should be doing." And she's right. The Lord has led me here for a purpose. And as one of my professors so eloquently expressed it -
"It's absurd what we do. It's absurd. But we do it because we love it.
And we'll keep doing it."
And we'll keep doing it."
