1/3 done with my first semester?!

Tomorrow marks exactly one month since classes started. I’ve been at school for exactly five weeks now. I feel like I’ve learned more in these five weeks than I did in a whole semester at Herricks, but at the same time it doesn’t feel like I’m doing any work. Although, I know that isn’t the case. I’ve already read five books, 8 plays, written papers, read poems, and made designs. Not to mention gone on auditions and spent about an hour in the practice room 6 days a week. I’ve done a shitload.

Camp Wagner. That’s what my roommate’s Dad calls it. This is pretty accurate. I have a sleepover with Brittany every night and there are always people around in my common room. It just so happens that we go to classes and do work. That’s not to say that the classes are jokes and the work isn’t hard. I’m working my butt off and enjoying every minute of it.

Today was the last day of the first module for acting 1. In other words, I’m a third done with the semester. Holey shit! I’m kind of sad to be done with David’s class for this semester but I’m also really excited to learn from John and Rusty. I’ve noticed a huge change in my voice and vocal production from David’s class, which was the vocal module of acting 1. I spent a lot of time outside of class doing his exercises and practicing the breath support techniques that he teaches. I have a long way to go but I’ve also come a long way already. Since it was the last day we had our final performance. I got an A! I was proud of myself, but when I started to think about it what does this mean? I prepared and practiced for my final. I felt like I did a really good job. But what can a letter tell me about my work? Nothing really. It’s hard to grade something that’s not black or white. The comments that my professor wrote down on my grading sheet are more valuable to me. It should be all about what I’ve learned, what I’ve accomplished, and what I know needs work. Acting class isn’t about impressing the teacher or my classmates. It’s not about getting an A+ because an A+ means perfection and an actor in training should never think his or her work is perfect. There’s always room for improvement or change or experimenting to learn more about the work. It’s an opportunity for me to motivate myself and show what I’m working on to a room full of people who can help me improve. They’re there for assist me and I’m there to assist them. We support each other and feed off of each other. We grow together and challenge each other. It’s a great working environment to be in. I’m so grateful to be allowed to explore and do research in this way.

Since I’m keeping myself busy I feel like I don’t have time to miss people. Is that a rude thing to say? I’m not home sick and I feel like I don’t ever want to leave school. The people here are all so down to earth and nice and we’ve all become super close super quickly. We also all have something very specific in common. We all chose Wagner. It may have been for different reasons, but that choice connects us in some way. Especially because Wagner is such a small school, there’s nowhere to hide. There is such a difference between high school friends and college friends. High school friends know all your shit. They’ve seen you through the awkward middle school times. They have formed opinions on you through the years. College friends don’t know anything about you. While it is a chance to reinvent yourself it’s also a chance to discover who you really are and allow your new friends to see that side of you. It’s the chance to gain trust with an entire new group of people and to connect with those people on a mature level. Not that friends from high school are fake or temporary. And I know I will be glad to see them during vacations. But they’re from my childhood and I’m no longer a child. I’m legally an adult, and I am responsible for my own actions. I’m more independent than I realized and I don’t need to cling onto people I’m used to being comfortable around. Before I came to college I didn’t feel ready to leave home, but now that I’m gone I know that I really was ready. I was just a little scared of the change. But the change has been good and I’m falling in love with my new lifestyle.

A quicky

Today when I was reading a book for my acting class I came upon the following quote:

"Energy is your zest for working, playing, loving - living. It is the biological power or force within you - your physical capacity for living and your mental attitude toward your capacity for living. In practical terms, you have "energy" if you can get through your working day with enough resources to meet unexpected demands, and still enjoy life" -Charles Kuntzleman

There have been so many things that I've learned or thought about within the past week that I would say "OH I gotta blog about this." But with the hectic schedule of a musical theater major, I haven't had time to sit down and blog while the inspiration is hot. So now, when I do have a few minutes to sit and type my thoughts I'm not as passionate about blogging all my new discoveries.

Acting class is great. We breathe and everyone is discovering and finding new really cool things about their bodies. The voice is a physical thing. And the best way of warming up your voice is by warming up your body. Some of you singers out there might find this hard to believe but it's true. I've felt the proof of it during class. This isn't to say that lip trills or scales aren't valuable. They are extremely helpful. But that's only 30% of a good vocal warm up. The rest is in your body. I would write more but I have to call my parents =)

To do's and Not to do's

College is for learning. Expanding minds. Exploring. College means lots of reading. Reading and reflecting. Reflecting on what you're learning and what you're thinking. College doesn't give busy work. To spend time is to get something out of it. To grow. To get confused. To not understand. To figure out. To understand. To ask questions and to answer them. To meet new people. Not to judge. To be uncomfortable and take academic risks. To grow older. College is the best time of our lives. When we surprise ourselves. Find out more about who we are. Find new interests. Pursue old ones.

It is not a time to waste the $44,000 on saturating oneself in alcohol. It is not a time to eat unhealthy. It is not a time to rebel against all morals that life has taught you. It is not a time to give in to dangerous temptations. To throw away everything you have worked for up until now. To pollute your mind. To be rude or obnoxious. To be scared of failing. To avoid trying something new out of fear.

Last night home

What does someone do on their last night home before going off to college? I finished packing. I'll spend time with my family. People have been posting on my wall. Family has been calling me and texting me. I know I have an amazing adventure ahead of me. Filled with learning and exploaring what I love to do. I'm excited to finally meet in person everyone that I've been talking to on facebook since April. But it's also really hard knowing that I'm leaving behind some of my best friends and my family that I'm so close with. I'm going to miss them. And I guess it's comforting knowing that if I ever do need to come home I can easily visit. My Mom told me I have a support system and a whole group of people behind me who believe in me. It's a good feeling. I feel blessed and honored for every opportunity that has already come my way and excited to meet those that are coming in the future.

Unfortunately, I did not get to say goodbye to everyone that I had wanted to say goodbye to this summer. But I'm glad to have met and befriended everyone that has been a part of my life these past 18 years. I have learned from you, shared memories with you, and experienced the transition from childhood to the teenage years and into young adulthood. I want to wish everybody good luck this coming year. I hope we can keep in touch as much as possible over facebook and when I come home for breaks. This isn't goodbye because life has it's funny little ways of making sure people cross paths again. Or at least I'd like to think that it does. I just have to know that everything will be okay. Everything will work out. The way it always has.

Singin

I've been singing a lot this summer. My sister and I have worked out a few duets that we want to record soon too. Tonight she was getting tired so I flipped through one of my Mom's many musical theater anthologies and started singing and recording different songs with my Dad's zoom. (a little recorder that I'm in love with - my parents actually got me one as a happy college present! they gave it to me tonight). I uploaded it to youtube and figured out how to embed it into my blog =)

this business

I love this business. My new best friend is backstage. I got the latest one from a newspaper stand the other day in the city and tonight I spent time circling auditions and e-mailed a few people my picture and resume. This isn't the first time I've done this and I know that an audition is just one audition and it doesn't mean anything. But you also never know. It's a mysterious world out there and the more you put yourself out there the more chances you have. I wish I could go on every audition listed but 1. some of them are 3,000 miles away in California and 2. I can't spend every day skipping class and going on auditions. That's not what my parents are paying my tuition for and that's not what I need my focus to be right now. Right now I have to train train train. Although, I do have my first audition coming up for a Wagner production. They're doing Spelling Bee this year and auditions are August 31. I've been listening to the cast recording a lot lately and my Mom gave me the script so I have to read it. I'm really excited. It'll be my first college audition. I'm so pumped because I'm starting to realize the amount of opportunities that are waiting to be taken advantage of in my future. It won't be easy and I know that sacrifices are on their way. But to be honest, I've already sacrificed so much of a normal teenage life that I'm okay with that. Bring on the work and the love.

Family

My family loves to have a good time. We love to dance and we love parties. So last weekend when my cousin Hallie got married, I wasn't surprised that my cousins and I were the first ones on the dance floor and the last ones off. We danced the whole night, right through dessert. I had a blast. While most of us live in New York, I do have some cousins in Connecticut and Georgia, and with everybody's crazy schedules it isn't often that we're all together. There are three generations of us. From 8 years old to my Great Aunt Yevi... I don't know how old she is. But despite our age differences, and some other differences we're still a family. And we still love each other. Multiple times throughout the night we found ourselves dancing in a big circle, or swaying back and forth with our arms around each other. I took the time to look around at everybody. They're my family. Times may change and friends will come and go but your family is something you're stuck with. I never really thought about how lucky I am to be from a family that's close. Things aren't always perfect, but whatever issues we have aren't big enough to keep us apart from each other. The next big event is my cousin Sami's bat mitzvah this January. They live in Georgie so the whole gang will be flying down for another big party. But until then it's facebook and a few phone calls.

The "kid" cousin table. This is only half of all of us..