Dear Musical Theatre,

You are one of the vastest creations worldwide. Thousands of professionals, students, and teachers take part in musicals every year- from doing lighting and costumes, to directing, to acting and dancing in every single production. Yet, even though there are thousands of people involved in productions, you still continue to change the lives of everyone who encounters you. No one walks away from you unchanged, including audience members.

I am one of the many lives that you have changed. I began loving theatre when I was in elementary school. My music teacher was in musicals, and we would sing songs from Disney musicals, such as the Lion King, and more advanced musicals, such as Les Misérables. (Granted, we sang Castle on a Cloud, which is sung by a child in the musical, but you get the idea.) Eventually, I was able to go see my first on-stage musical, Beauty and the Beast. Musicals soon consumed my days. I began learning all of the songs from as many musicals as I could, frequently visiting our local theater or making trips to Tulsa to see as many musicals as possible. This was just the tip of the iceberg for me.

As I got older, I started wanting to do theatre. I found a local group, auditioned, and from there made so many amazing friends and memories. I have made some of my best friends through theatre. Spending hours practicing, blocking scenes, memorizing scripts, doing dances over and over, and even just sitting in someone’s car belting show tunes is what brought us all together. Through the countless group messages, cast parties, and summer nights spent together, these people made the theatre feel like my home. My heart was broken when I had to leave for college, but I knew that these people would continue changing lives. My director had faith in all of us, and believed we were possible of amazing things. Without these people, I would not be the person I am today. Without theatre, I would not know these people at all.

Theatre also helped me through the hard times. When something was going on in my life that I just couldn’t talk about, I was able to channel all of that into the character I was portraying at the time. I was able to become someone else entirely, and let the problems melt away. For those few moments during rehearsal or during a show, the rest of the world didn’t matter. When I came back from the show, the problem seemed much less important. I was in my favorite place with the best people and an audience who was excited to be there. How could I be stressed about anything? The problems melted away under the lights, and allowed me to focus on the more important things in my life.

So thank you musical theatre. Thank you for teaching me how to influence people. Thank you for bringing me to some of the best people that I have ever known. Thank you for helping me make life-long connections. Thank you for helping me through the hard times. But mostly, thank you for teaching me to be myself.

With Love,

Rhianna