1. Public speaking. As a young student, it is extremely common for one to become anxious before having to present a project or paper in front of the class. More than likely, everyone feels this way at some point in their life (not only on school grounds, but at work, or similar environments, as well). Starting theater at such a young age in childhood, I have learned all of the important components that come with speaking publicly. Although most of my speaking on stage has been scripted, that alone helps with speaking with clarity, confidence, and projection. Learning how to improvize, too, has become very useful, because thespians are trained well what to say when needing to "cover" or make up lines as we go along. That alone has helped immensely with cutting out "like" and "um" out of my vocabulary.
2. A-plus memory, Memorizing lines and dialogue is not easy, especailly as a beginner. However, once you are doing theater for quite some time, you will get in the groove of memorization, which really helps your memory grow. After a while, remembering things becomes a lot easier, like using methods you would use to remember lines as a way to remember information for an exam.
3. Professionalism. Because of my theater background, I am never late to anything if I can help it. A director once told me, "early is on-time, on-time is late, and late is not acceptable." Timeliness is a good habit to have, especially when it comes to a job or commitment. Another way theater life has taught me professionalism, is common courtesy. It may look like we are all one big happy family on stage, but unfortunately that is not always the case backstage. Although we may not like someone in our cast, we know how to deal with it appropriately. You leave your attitude behind and just play nice. It is not being phony, it is called manners.
4. Individuality and thinking with an open mind. Theater has taught me that it is okay to be different. Samantha may have blue streaks in her hair and thirty tattoos covering her skin. Robert may love to listen to jazz music and take up photography by day, but also ride his Harley by night. We do not see anything strange about anyone's differences in a negative manner. We know it is not our business and we embrace those differences.
5. Theater taught me passion. It made me feel passion for the craft and everything that goes into it. It has given me a strong sense of emotions, and a good tolerance for many of things. Responsibility, and creativity, along with finding myself within the art.
