New Year, New Me

Now in my senior year of IB, I seem to have accomplished quite a few things that I have not yet taken the time to appreciate. Although the size of our theatre class last year was incredibly small, I feel as though that might have been a miracle in disguise. Who knew that that with only five students we would be forced to perform almost every time by ourselves. I believe that these monologues have made me truly comfortable for being myself, or anyone else for that matter, on stage. Today was the ultimate test as I auditioned for Moliere's Scapin, also known as our fall show. Considering past experiences with auditions, I came into this one without high expectations except for the opportunity to show my classmates what I had prepared. I used to always get choked up once I got into that spotlight. It was when my hands started shaking that I knew the nerves had really hit. Today's audition was really no different, my hands did shake but I was able to control it and get through the monologue the way I had rehearsed it. For once I felt that I was able to use my nervousness to my advantage as it translated into humor for the audience. The piece de resistance was definitely the pantomime. I truly enjoyed performing something that I, myself, had created to show the rest of my classmates. Though I would never want to go back and relive all that anxiousness and jitters during that audition, this experience has been my best by far. The reality of my progress really hit me when one of my friends, who I had not performed in front of for quite a time, complimented me on how well I did. I still look back to those sophomore days in Advanced Drama when I used to get tripped up over blocking and lines in scenes, but I now can control my nerves from getting the best of me. Acting alone makes you more responsible for everything that happens on that stage. If you drop a line or forget some piece of your blocking, there is no one to save you but yourself.