Let me start off by stating that before this happened, I was a fan of theatre. I’ve been watching musicals and plays since I was nine, and my dream career paths growing up always involved the arts, but actually being onstage? Lugging heavy lights? Definitely not my style. So the fact that this weekend I’m doing costumes and makeup for my high school’s first musical production baffles me.
My high school is well known for its International Baccalaureate program, which to sum it up means incredibly hardworking students can learn college level material during high school. After deciding not to partake in this, my counselor informed me that I would not have to take French 1A as I was covered for language credits from junior high Spanish, and I was given the choice of available courses, most of which were varying health classes.
I settled on Theatre 1A.
My first day was an absolute nightmare: I was late to a classroom where everyone already knew one another, forcing me to have to get to know a few acquaintances better. In an overly dramatic, stereotypically theater way, I had to channel my “inner animal” and act like them for the rest of the class period. Although I had to stumble around an unfamiliar room acting like a cat, I was able to make people laugh, turns out most theater kids are cat people.
Now, six months later, I've learned that “stage right” is actually left, I've delivered countless monologues, and was drafted to do costumes and makeup for the school’s first musical since the 90s. Not to mention all of the new friends I've made. They always say that stepping outside of your comfort zone is the way to find yourself; turns out stepping into the limelight is where I found myself.