Theatre Within

Theatre reflects it’s time and therefore reflects us. Theatre can make you cry, it can make you laugh, but in the end if it’s done its job, it has effected. I believe theatre is within all of us, we just have to discover it.

I first found theatre when I was just 8 years old and a tone deaf orphan in Oliver. I thought it was fun and exciting. I was making new friends, getting to portray other people and different time periods. Theatre fueled my imagination.

I have not always been friendly with theatre, we butt heads often. We argue about the underlying meaning of a play, or the unfair casting of a show, or even why the guys always get the best ballads. I argue with theatre when a director is frustrating or closed minded, or when I work my butt off with what seems like no reward in the end. I have come to my breaking point when I thought I had to leave theatre. I thought if something was so frustrating and made me cry so often how could I love it? I could no longer cope with the politics, bad directing, controlling parents, and fake friendships. But I realized these frustrations were only learning tools. It was because I loved it and believed in it that I fought so hard. I knew I still believed in theatre. My frustrations only helped me discover more truth and gain a stronger foundation in my belief in the beauty and passion of theatre.

Theatre helped me gain a strong foundation in myself. I became strong, outgoing, I voiced my opinions, and I stood up to those who I felt were being unjust or unfair. I was becoming the heroine I wanted so badly to play in each show. I saw the power of strength. I believe theatre has the power to overcome obstacles and to stand up for what it believes in. Theatre stands proud when school budgets want to cut; theatre sings out against the problems of society, theatre brings people and places together even if only for an hour or so in a communion between actor and audience.

Now 10 years later I have discovered the beauty and grace of theatre and am dying to become a drama teacher. I have discovered myself in theatre and I want to show the world, starting with my students what theatre lays within them.

I believe in the purity and beauty of acting and the feeling that is acting, not thinking, just feeling and doing. The human mind is all about feelings, and this is why theatre is able to reflect us, for we are all theatre, we just need to discover it.