Essay On Quit Theatre

Theatre has a different meaning for everyone who encounters it. Over the years theatre has given me a lot. It has given me an outlet, a way to express myself. In fact one of my mentors said that, “It isn’t about impressing, but about expressing,” and that really resonated with me, as that’s what I really believe theatre is about. Also, theatre has given me a safe place that I can always turn to. In addition, I have learned many life lessons through theatre, such as, dedication and work ethic. It has also taught me about the sanctity of communication and individuality. My most valuable high school memories and experiences have stemmed from theatre. When I look back on my high school years I won’t remember the classes I took and the grades I received, but I will remember the shows I participated in because they have shaped the person I have become and have been some of the most impactful moments in my life.

This past week-end, nineteen Dutchman Creek Middle School students attended the SC Junior Thespian Competition in Summerville, SC. After an intense day of performing, competing, and participating in educational student workshops, six of our students emerged as top of their craft and have been invited to attend the National Thespian Competition in Lincoln, Nebraska. They are:

Ever since I can remember I have loved theatre. It’s been a constant presence, and an important touchstone, in my life. However, for as long as I’ve loved theatre, I have also been ridiculed for my enjoyment of it. As a child, my interest was tolerated as something precious, something I was bound to grow out of. My parents and teachers would sit in the audience, clapping and cheering me on, all the while thinking to themselves “I bet she’ll make a great lawyer one day.” They thought, like most of society, theatre was an unnecessary luxury; a pastime for the rich and powerful, for those who didn’t have to worry about putting food on the table, or clothes on their children’s backs. Certainly not

The first time that I watched a performance was when I was nine. My older brother got a lead in a production and my parents forced me to go. Once the house lights turned off and the stage lights came on, I felt like it was just me and the actors. I was caught. Acting was a crime and I the criminal. The lighting, the facial expressions, the blocking, it all captured my attention, and I couldn’t let it go, I can’t let it go. When the play ended, I asked my brother what I could do to get the chance to get up on that stage and he said, “Act,” Since that day, the only thing I did was act. I looked for monologues online and started getting really involved with other people that also enjoyed theater.

"Gin and guns—either one is bad enough, but together they get you in a dickens of a mess, don 't they."—Accused murderer Belva Gaertner, 1924 (National Geographic, N.D)

Musical theater has always been something I looked at in a positive light because it was somewhere I could be who I wanted to be, and I could play different people. There are many reasons as to why I have chosen to go into theater as a career and they include the freedom to create characters, the chance to meet new and exciting people, and the opportunity to get up on stage every night and give a performance. The possibilities are endless as to what can happen in theater, and sometimes people get lucky enough to live their dream.

“Aren’t you a little old for that?” “Isn’t that for little kids?” “You need to grow up.” There comes a time where everyone hears those words. It normally happens when you get into high school. Teenagers try to ditch their childish image just as Miley Cyrus tried to ditch her Hannah Montana image. Those young adults are trying to remove the “young” part and prove they are just adults. I never personally went through that phase myself. Of course, I matured and acted like a professional when I was expected too. However, I never stopped loving the things that might be considered weird for a high school student to do in his free time. I still watched cartoons and played with bubbles and drew on the sidewalk with chalk. I didn’t see anything wrong with these enjoyable hobbies even though it made people look at me strange or tease me in the halls. I never really got over the enjoyment of acting immature in a mature way. However, I felt like I was out of place at times. It wasn’t until my the end of my junior year that I decided to say “screw it” and break the status quo of feeling ashamed of enjoying the happiness of life. I had been involved in the theatre program for almost two years. The state theatre competition was coming up and my theatre troupe decided to do a modern telling of Peter Pan as our one act play.

Many kids grow up with the wish of becoming a famous star. Whether it is a movie star, being on Disney channel, becoming a pop star and selling out stadiums, or for spending their life on the Broadway stage. While it is a known fact that while many want to live in this prestigious world, only a small percentage of the people actually can make a living in this business. Many actors live paycheck to paycheck, and even if they become big in the business they may not know where their next job will be. But most do the business for their love of the art, not for the money of fame. Theater becomes a therapy for me as well as other people, whether it is performing in a show or it is seeing your favorite show live on stage.

I love performing and I have been my entire life, though not always through acting. I used to act a little bit when i was little but until recently, I was a member of a ballet company. I loved being on stage and performing for the full audience twice (or more) a year. But then I realized that i was tired of all the long practices and rude instructors. I quit ballet and started to do theater. I realized that i love acting and it would be a dream of mine to pursue it. Though I consider this an unrealistic goal. Most actors don't get the job and there are allot of factors that you can't control such as luck and talent. Though you can get better by practicing and having

Being normal can be difficult, because society sets the definition of normal that people should achieve. However, this is not the thought process individuals should be followed. On November 7, 2016, I experienced a wonderful performance at the University of Michigan-Flint theater. Next to Normal was a play that brought out a variety of emotions within the audience. This musical gave a delightful act of expressing mental issues and how it affected a certain family. Theater is a way of storytelling that which allowed us to observe how this one family can be greatly impacted by a mental illness. Not knowing what to expect from the show, the set and the program provided me with a glimpse of what I am to see.

At the end of the day, I am still that anemone, only now, I see life a little differently, through theater colored glasses if you will. There are still those curious fingers but now they are not so scary. Theater taught me, as backwards as it may sound, to not be afraid of my fears. It taught me that I should not be ashamed to recoil from things unknown because it is a natural instinct. But it also taught me that I shouldn’t hide all day just because something might come along. Rather than pushing me, theater taught me

Ever since the world was created, humans have tried to express themselves trough art. Painting, sculpting, music, and, above everything, theatre. Even before they could speak properly , primitives use dance and small rituals as a way of enterteinment. However, now, in the higly technology developed world we live, every day there are more various and modern options to do in our free time but, at the same time all changes and becomes dull too fast.This puts theatre in a really fragile position and makes us wonder if it will become out-of-style or if, on the contrary, as this essay will proof, it will still be relevant and up to date for the next generations.

“The theatre is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and never succumbed. It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive” – John Steinbeck. Devotion is a key part of being a performer; being devoted to your performances - and to yourself; your ability; your development; your belief in yourself. I understand this can be tough, but the experiences of theatre are so precious and valuable and they genuinely excite me - therefore I make this application using my head and my heart. What I do is a lifestyle; and it’s a choice I make, whole-heartedly, because I have a thirst for learning, a hunger to better myself; as a person and as a performer and I want to be surrounded by people who share my passion

It all began on my first day at North Loop Elementary. I met a boy which I thought was a good friend. Less than a week into school, he began to tease me for being a little more on the chubby side and started pranking me by yanking the chair out from under me and often pinching and twisting my pectoral area. As he continued to tease me, I got angrier and no matter how much I told the teacher it only seemed to get worse. One day I said to myself “I’ve had enough of this clown.” (I don’t think I actually said that.) So when he yanked my chair out from under me, I pushed him down and hit him with the chair while he was down. That landed me straight to Mrs. Jones’s, our principal, office. It seems the teacher never saw any of the times he pulled the chair out from under me, but she saw the one time I reacted. It only went downhill from there.

In order for you to understand my current situation and life, it is imperative you know the backstory. Though far from glamorous, my past has greatly shaped the woman and leader I am today. Born to a peasant mother and bear-trainer father in Constantinople, my opportunities were limited. Advancing in social class was not an option in this “human jungle” and my family’s main goal was survival. Once my father died, it became my older sister’s and my responsibility to provide for our family. Comito travelled through local theater’s performing but I lacked the talent to dance or sing so my roles were only as minor characters. Eventually, I gained popularity from my wit and charisma on the stage and began performing on my own, though my shows were notoriously “daring [and] immodest.” My success in the theater became success as a courtesan as those roles often went hand in hand. I was highly paid for my “supper parties.”3 I did not enjoy this humiliating job, but my lifestyle was not unique. As a family of women, work was highly limited and often times prostitution was the only option.