Rough Draft Short Story

It was a warm mid-september day and I was preparing to go horseback riding for the very first time. I was celebrating my bestfriend’s birthday with her family and a couple other friends. On the ride over you could feel the jitters in the air and the excitement to try something new. We arrived to Bobby’s Ranch in Westford MA and settled on petting some of the other animals. It was all very bizarre, almost movie-like. We joked around about rookie mistakes and wondered how many of us were going to fall under it’s trap. The ride was scheduled to be an hour long, through the woods and in an orderly fashion. I got on top of a platform and was instructed on how to get up on the saddle and how to use the reins to guide the horse. The birthday girl

Have you ever had those days when you felt like you could no longer make it? Those days when you felt down for the count, and as though no one understood or had you back. In that instant, you wailed! Then you stopped and thought to yourself, I’m stronger than this, and the only way out was if you made a way out.

Above all, I wouldn’t be where I am today without theatre. Without the chance to perform throughout my life, I would be disconnected from the wide array of communities and histories that’s been imbedded in my daily routine. Unfortunately, it’s speculated that the theatre is a dying art form, because of the expanding popularities of movies (“Is”), but I think that it’ll remain a well renowned part of expressing imagination and interpreting history as years pass; it only takes cooperation with school faculty and young students that go above and beyond to change their

“I really started dreaming... and broke out of my shyness when I got to Howard University. My first acting class was an Intro to Acting class with Professor Bay, who really broke me out of my shell, encouraged me to follow my dreams and make them a reality” (Gross). I’m going to talk about how to open the door of show business into Hollywood and show you how to potentially reach success. Many talented actors don’t succeed in show business because they forget the first rule: show business is a business. So what I’m going to tell you here briefly covers the business details behind the world of film, television, and theatre. In order to better understand your role in the larger scheme of show business, you need to understand the wants and needs of the wealthiest people in the industry. The business of acting is simple. You help others make money, and they’ll help you make money. But first, you need to figure out how show business really works.

I auditioned for my school's play Harvey freshman year. I worked intensively on my audition. Anticipation flooded my body when I heard the cast list was posted in auditorium days after the auditions. Immediately after my last period class, I dashed to the auditorium to look at the list and see what part I got. I scrutinized the list multiple times and didn't see my name. I felt incredible sadness, disappointment and embarrassment, but figured the director decided this because I was a freshman and did not know the school very well, and the upperclassmen were more experienced and deserving than I. So, I accepted my failure and decided to try again next year.

During my junior year, all high school students of the Coachella Valley were given the opportunity to audition for the All Coachella Valley Honor Band, with a guest conductor H. Robert Reynolds. This was a significant educational opportunity I took advantage of. The audition consisted of a couple of scales, and excerpts from the music that was going to be performed on the day of the concert. When the day came I sat in front of the judge with my music and clarinet, where my nerves began to rise. Before I began to play my heart began to pound along with my hands beginning to sweat. Throughout my audition I had a few mistakes,but I stayed persistent and completed my audition. After I finished my audition, the judge said I had done great, I was

I wasn't planning on coming back quite so soon, and who knows, I may not truly be back because I am, in fact, still pursuing other avenues of my life, avenues that take up a considerable amount of my time, especially during the holiday season, and then Paris...

I began New Mexico School for the Arts afraid of myself. It was a new school, thrust in the chaos of just trying to stay open. I walked into the gym to meet a man with white hair, blue jeans, and a bursting laugh that seemed to settle everyone’s anxiety. Mr. Chavez had embarked on establishing a school where New Mexico’s youth- so often overlooked and disregarded- could learn and master theatrical craft. He had left the large public high school, where the theater bore his own name, to found an opportunity for us. I sit here at my desk writing to you what potentially hundreds, maybe thousands, of people could say. Mr. Chavez changed my life. I say this without melodramatic intent, rather as a statement of fact.

I hold the paper in my hands. It’s crumpling under my grip, but in it I get to live in the footsteps of others. My old dress is wrinkled and torn much like the paper, but I can’t spare the money on a new one. As much as I try to focus on the crinkled piece of paper with scrawly handwriting, I can’t. I just can’t. Tears run down my face and I wipe them away. It has been awhile since I have cried, so long in fact that I was afraid that there was something wrong with me. I push myself up from the old oak I sit at the base of. There’s no use in dwelling in what I can’t change. I fold the paper back in my dress pocket and walk into the field. I used to think there was beauty in the way that the grass grows in the street; standing low next to the

I screamed in tears, “Dad! Mom,” at the top of my lungs as I was laying on the hard,cold basement floor.

I saw my first Broadway show at only seven years old and have seen over ten more since then, due to the fact I live only two hours away from New York City by train. I always enjoyed theatre, but I didn’t grow the deep love I have for it now until acting became a career option. I spent a week of the summer completely in the business world of theatre and came out knowing I had to be an actress. I dived into all things Broadway, bought as many albums as I could, watched as many interviews as possible, saved up to see more shows, but even with all of this love for

¨Hopefully I get a midget horse¨ I thought as we pulled into the ranch. As I opened the car door, I heard the thunderous THUMP THUMP of horses hooves. ¨Oh God¨ I thought as my stomach turned into a knotted ball. Soon we were greeted by one of the ranch hands and were taken to a dinky shed to get suited up and sign waivers. Then came saddling time. We were taken to the horse pen where we were greeted by the stench of horse manure. I spied out a smaller horse around five to six feet tall and hoped to get that one as my horse. Shure enough my grandma got that horse as she is the shortest. I spied out yet another horse on the shorter side and hoped to get that one. My turn to get saddled came next and sure enough, with my luck, I get the second

Can you see the handsome young man sitting by my side, driving through the forest, behind the wheel of his decaying truck?

When I read the audition scene, I was immediately drawn to how amazing the script was! Also, in my audition scene, I had to play piano, which I have been doing since I was four, so I believe that was an advantage for me.

"I’m so nervous,” I complained to my mom as we walked into the Waukesha Civic Theatre. “What if I’m not good enough. I haven’t even prepared that much!” It was a crisp September day and some leaves had already started changing color. On the way home from school my mom told me about a play that the theater puts on near us every year and thought I would be good for it. Since I had only heard about the audition that day, it gave me a few hours to pick my song and be prepared for whatever part they wanted me to read. The next song that came on the radio was the song “Edge of Glory” by Lady GaGa and because it was in my vocal range I thought it would be good for me. Little did I know that this audition would change my view of theater.