Personal Narrative: How Theater Changed My Life

When I was little, I was very shy around new people. I usually only showed who I actually was around my family. I didn’t have a friend who I could be myself around, they were usually just friends who I would play with at recess. That was until everything changed, and I moved across the town of Derby.

Since I was young, there was a communication barrier that existed between me and the outside world. My shyness led me to many downfalls on my academic side. Not understanding a topic would mean that I would never be able to clarify any questions that were on my mind. Until around 6th grade, I always considered myself introverted; I had the inability to blend in with strangers, peers and teachers.

It was a beautiful evening in April, and the weather was finally starting to get warm again. After a tough and bitter winter, little buds were appearing on flowers and trees, and some color was returning to the world. Above, the sun was setting creating various shades of red, pink, and orange across the blue sky. Among an audience, darkness encompassed the room creating an anxious silence. Only after a few seconds the stars came out. The stage lights came on nearly blinding the audience, and the actress said her first line.

My name is Samantha Norton and I'm an Adjunct professor with the Theatre & Dance Department. I teach acting 110.

Ever since I was little I have loved theatre. I guess it started because my grandma has been taking me to see shows since i was little. I remember her taking me to see The Nutcracker for the first time when I was five years old. She has taken me to see so many more amazing shows.

I took several beginning classes. I took classes with seven and eight-year-olds. For months, I dedicated hours of my day to dance. I’d dance from three to eight and on some occasion six to eight. Day and night I took classes and kept improving. My teacher Ms. Kim noticed and pulled me aside one day, “I don’t think you should be in this class anymore,” she said. “You need to be in a higher level class. Something more challenging.” I was in complete shock. I knew I was getting better; however, I never thought I’d progress that fast. I left dancing with the little kids and started taking classes with people my age and older. People who have been dancing since they were

Before my senior year of high school, I was a very shy, closed-off individual. However, my last year I wanted to change that. The primary way I sought to do this was through participating in high school theater. If I was given $10,000 and 30 days, I, Jacob Smith, would put forth these resources towards the improvement of Roxana High School’s drama department.

As a child growing up with social anxiety disorder, I know firsthand that it reduces the quality of life. I feel as if I have been wronged in life because of this disorder, it has robbed me of my potential happiness. Growing up was not easy, I constantly felt like I was being judged, I had a hard time making friends and an even harder time keeping them. Every day was an obstacle that I just wanted to avoid, I was even afraid to get on my school bus because I thought people would talk bad about me as I was making my way to a seat. My family didn’t even understand how much this was affecting me, they believed that my avoiding human contact was because I was depressed and wanted to put me in therapy. I became so jealous of people who had so much confident and would not even blink an eye when they were made to present in front of the class. This disorder got me in a lot of trouble in my first year of middle school, I became so afraid of the change and people that I was scared to attend class and I refused for 52 day to go. I was put on probation for truancy just because I was scared of people. Later when I attended high school, I thought it had gone away but I was wrong because it hit me harder than ever. Presentations were required and I panicked, each and every time I stood in front of the class. I would get shaky and I would start to stutter. Social anxiety gave me the title of being weird, apparently not talking makes you stand out even when

When I think of things that represent who I am, the one thing that always comes to mind is a stage. During my time in high school I was involved in the theatre department and I always seemed to take part in anything that had to do with acting. Acting became the one thing that I could count on to help me escape from my hard realities. Stepping on that stage and feeling the hot lights burn down on my skin made me feel invincible. Getting that rush of nerves that made my stomach churn always simmered away as I fed off of the audience’s energy. Once I got started I couldn’t be stopped. Being on that stage took me to another world every night with the rich smells of the buttered popcorn and concession candy. I didn’t have to think about any of my

Dance has been apart of my life ever since I can remember. When I was young, before I officially started my dance training, I was always up on my feet and moving. No matter what hobby I took interest in (whether it was cheerleading, musical theatre, or jump rope), I would always find a way to choreograph little routines a show them to my friends and family. Even when my parents tried to put me in sports, I would do cartwheels and dance on the playing fields, completely oblivious to what was going on during the games. When I look back at how I started my dance training, I just smile and laugh because I was so naïve and unaware that it would become such a huge part of my life. In 5th grade I was put into my first dance class as a hobby. It happened because I watched the Disney Channel movie High School Musical and immediately fell in love with it. I showed the movie to my parents and told them, “This is what I want to do.” At the time I thought I excelled in both signing and acting and that all I needed were dance classes. So in 4th grade I was put into my first dance class and I began to scratch the surface of the basics of dance. What I didn’t know then is that dance would slowly but surely influence my entire life and

I am a competitive dancer and I have been since I was in the 8th grade. Before I started dancing, I was shy and insecure in everything that I did. Dance changed my life. Dancing help me be the person I am today because I was forced to wear clothes I was uncomfortable with, I had to dance in from of people who were paid to be there and judge me and I had to believe in myself when no one else thought I could do it. The first year I tried out for the competitive dance team at my studio, I was one of the worst dancers anyone has seen in their lives. I was only doing it because my friend was on the team and she wanted me to be as well. During the audition I was so scared and embarrassed that I started crying. I went home that day so sure that I

My dancing was awkward and clumsy at best. I was shy and embarrassed to dance with anyone –even my own instructor. This self-consciousness blinded me from recognizing how much I enjoyed being on the dance floor, feeling the rhythms and steps to the music. Every mis-step or spin warranted an inward criticism. I spent a number of Friday nights at Ceviche watching all the couples, conflicted between wanting to go home and hoping that one day, I would be one of the lithe dancers confidently gliding across the floor in the rhythm of the music. I was afraid to admit how much I really wanted to dance. The years following, I did not show my face in that place often, due to a sense of

As I was scanning the crowd in The Bolshoi Theater through the lenses of my decrepit Galilean binoculars, waiting for the opera to commence, I noticed something strange: a distinguished, young man looking particularly anxious, fidgeting continuously with the opera play bill. Unconsciously, I grabbed my grandmother’s ancient broche and I held it tight. It was my good-luck charm and the only memory I had left of her.

It all started when I was 8, I was in speech therapy for my expressive language disorder. It was a pretty dark time for me because I felt like an outcast. I was unable to communicate well, not only with my friends, but also with my teachers, and family. This obviously made it extremely difficult to make friends or connect with virtually anybody. To no surprise everybody around me assumed that my silence meant I was unintelligent. This was not true; academically I did very well in most subjects such as math, science, and social studies. In all honesty what people thought of me was not a concern, nor did it cause me to stress. The only concern on my mind was whether I would ever make friends.

However, learning the material was more difficult than I originally expected. During my time in New York, I was participating a very rigorous dance intensive; giving us only two rehearsals to learn the material. Thus balancing rehearsal time and energy with the intensive work took a lot of careful planning, energy and focus. Secondly, during the learning process I had a family member pass away; forcing me balance funeral and family events to my schedule; let alone grieving. All of these events, made the first rehearsal difficult to perform at my full potential. I felt distracted, foggy-head and inadequate. I could not pick up the rhythms and the patterns did not make sense. I was struggling with the most basic concepts and feeling embarrassed and frustrated that I could not be my best self. Feeling completely beside myself The next day I talked to my adviosor at Steps about our first rehearsal. She said, “ Things will happen. You are human, not just a dancer so it’s inevitable that life’s happening will guide your performance. If you feel it is something that’s needs to be address talk to him. People are kind they will understand.” Our next rehearsal I said,” im sorry about my perfoamce last rehearsal I mean to come such a mess. My aunt just passed away. I was trying to be professional.” No need to worry he told he went to