Ever since I was little, I have loved the stage. I loved performing, regardless of whether or not I was trained or educated in performing arts. There was a wonderful rush performing gave. It was my one chance to express different personas and experience what it’s like to embody a different personality.
I was a part of a few middle school plays, some dance performances including Dancers’ Symposium, and most recently Greek Sing. My sorority and our partner fraternity closed the event with American Idiot, an angsty and energetic musical that brought back everyone’s middle school memories. Throughout the early half of the semester, drilling the routines and ensemble numbers got brutally tiring and frustrating at times when the cast could not perform cohesively. On the day of the show as we lined up backstage for our opening number and the drumsticks tapped “5, 6, 7, 8”, I watched my cast close their eyes and snap them open just to see a whole different light burst in their eyes. We burst in, giving that show our all, leaving our grenade hearts on the stage, and walked home with four beautiful trophies. Running off after the performance, every single person felt so proud, ecstatic, and alive.
People tend to forget that sometimes performing isn’t always about winning or being the best. When was the last time a performer told someone he or she only performs to beat other people or be the best actor to exist? People perform because they want to; they love to. For me, I have no real technical dance or voice training. I’ve relied on attitude and ability to feel the emotions of whichever character I need to evolve into on stage to get me anywhere in the performing world. But every time I get on that stage, as long as that attitude and that character shows through, I start experiencing life from a different perspective, from a different mindset, from a different set of eyes. It turns into a great adventure.
Performing comes from within. It doesn’t matter whether or not you’ve had all the experience and training. All you need is a flexible mind and a fiery love for the spotlight.