I went through old production photos and made myself sad
1:31 AM
(Photos courtesy of the lovely Jolynn Caldwell)
I remember what being a freshman/actor in high school felt like, despite the fact that at this point, my first two years of high school are kind of a blur. I remember not getting cast in shows as a first year but falling in love with the department anyway. I remember working hard, improving a lot, and making a lot of mistakes. It's weird thinking back on high school, in all honesty. Despite the fact that unlike college, I wasn't majoring in musical theatre, I was still so invested in the fine arts. I was a freshman and I was standing on the sidelines. Fast forward four years and I had been in the front row and taken the final bow more times than I could count.
And believe me when I say I'm not telling you this to brag. I'm telling you this because after a wonderful high school experience in theatre, after four years of learning, improving (oh God, I used to be so bad) I had totally and completely evolved as a person and as a performer. And even now, I've come full circle. Now, I'm a freshman once again, learning the ropes in an entirely new place, starting to think about professional gigs and internships, starting to really make it happen, and finally starting to make new friends.
So earlier today, it suddenly dawned on me: my last high school musical was exactly one year ago. To the day! So of course, I was instantly hit with a violent wave of nostalgia and, naturally, starting scrolling through our theatre department's facebook page and found these gems. The photo on the left is from Tartuffe by Moliere. And Christ, I forgot how amazing our set was, how amazing out costumes were, how liberating this show was. It was the first time I'd ever had the lead in a play. Musicals? I'd been there done that with Grease the previous year.
But Tartuffe was a different story. Honestly, I'd give just about anything to go back and do this show again, to revive this part given that I've learned so much more since we did it.
One of the best parts about theatre in high school was our small little circle of actors. My last two years of high school, my best friends and I were in so many shows together. Ironically, my best friend played my mom in Tartuffe, and I went on to play her mom in the next show that we did: Urinetown.
And what a Goddamn show that was.
Urinetown was a complete and total gem. It was one of the best musicals our department had put on in years (in my opinion) and what's more was that everyone loved it. It was so much fun, and playing Pennywise was such an incredible experience. Vocally, it was so taxing and so stressful and for that reason, I don't know if I could ever play her again any time soon- and this is coming from a year later. But this was my last high school show and some of my best friends and I took the leads and had the time of our lives. And I was a proud mama (literally, in the case of the show) to watch one of by closest friends take the leading lady role in Urinetown as Hope.
High School theatre was the absolute best and honestly, I will never forget my amazing experience. Whether you go on to do theatre in college or not, cherish the time you have in high school! You're young but you're getting good at what you're doing, and you have amazing friends and amazing teammates at your side.
I remember what being a freshman/actor in high school felt like, despite the fact that at this point, my first two years of high school are kind of a blur. I remember not getting cast in shows as a first year but falling in love with the department anyway. I remember working hard, improving a lot, and making a lot of mistakes. It's weird thinking back on high school, in all honesty. Despite the fact that unlike college, I wasn't majoring in musical theatre, I was still so invested in the fine arts. I was a freshman and I was standing on the sidelines. Fast forward four years and I had been in the front row and taken the final bow more times than I could count.
And believe me when I say I'm not telling you this to brag. I'm telling you this because after a wonderful high school experience in theatre, after four years of learning, improving (oh God, I used to be so bad) I had totally and completely evolved as a person and as a performer. And even now, I've come full circle. Now, I'm a freshman once again, learning the ropes in an entirely new place, starting to think about professional gigs and internships, starting to really make it happen, and finally starting to make new friends.
So earlier today, it suddenly dawned on me: my last high school musical was exactly one year ago. To the day! So of course, I was instantly hit with a violent wave of nostalgia and, naturally, starting scrolling through our theatre department's facebook page and found these gems. The photo on the left is from Tartuffe by Moliere. And Christ, I forgot how amazing our set was, how amazing out costumes were, how liberating this show was. It was the first time I'd ever had the lead in a play. Musicals? I'd been there done that with Grease the previous year.
But Tartuffe was a different story. Honestly, I'd give just about anything to go back and do this show again, to revive this part given that I've learned so much more since we did it.
One of the best parts about theatre in high school was our small little circle of actors. My last two years of high school, my best friends and I were in so many shows together. Ironically, my best friend played my mom in Tartuffe, and I went on to play her mom in the next show that we did: Urinetown.
And what a Goddamn show that was.
Urinetown was a complete and total gem. It was one of the best musicals our department had put on in years (in my opinion) and what's more was that everyone loved it. It was so much fun, and playing Pennywise was such an incredible experience. Vocally, it was so taxing and so stressful and for that reason, I don't know if I could ever play her again any time soon- and this is coming from a year later. But this was my last high school show and some of my best friends and I took the leads and had the time of our lives. And I was a proud mama (literally, in the case of the show) to watch one of by closest friends take the leading lady role in Urinetown as Hope.
High School theatre was the absolute best and honestly, I will never forget my amazing experience. Whether you go on to do theatre in college or not, cherish the time you have in high school! You're young but you're getting good at what you're doing, and you have amazing friends and amazing teammates at your side.
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