Yes, I admit it. I am a horrible human being who hasn't posted for almost three months now. But I am back and ready to give you the update of a lifetime.
So Christmas Break (dear God, let's see how well I remember that) was pretty weird. Got back from London and had the worst case of culture shock I can even begin to imagine. It's just a situation where you literally have to remember how to live your life all over again. It was uncomfortable and I still feel I'm getting back into the groove. It was wonderful seeing my friends and family, of course, and I couldn't be happier to have had the experience, but it will always be a semester that I will miss and cherish.
I got back to school around the 10th to move into my new (are you ready for this?) apartment! As an official Trinity senior, I am living off campus with my roommate of three years now, not far from campus (5 minutes is my usual driving time). Classes so far have been absolutely WONDERFUL. I am the Peer Tutor for the Acting II class, which I am completely loving. I get to participate with the students while also being their teacher on occasion, critiquing their work as their mentor. Voice lessons are still going great and I am now taking a theater dance class, which I am enjoying immensely. It's giving me the experience with dance TRAINING that I never had, taking jazz, ballet, and tap to a more refined area of expertise. I am also writing the libretto for this year's opera workshop. The workshop gives voice students a chance to be in an actual production, and this year we are doing Die Fledermaus. While the piece already has a libretto, I have been asked to adapt it to be more humorous and relatable. So far, pretty fun!
However, the highlight of my semester thus far has been my Senior Experience. When you are a senior, you have to cap off your Trinity experience with a senior project. Mine was directing a full length show called Top Girls, by Caryl Churchill. Without a doubt this was the best Trinity experience I have ever had. Casting, while painfully difficult, gave me a great sense of the talent we truly have in our drama department and showed me the new first years I never got to meet in the Fall. I had, without a doubt in my mind, a dream cast. They got along so well and I loved each and every one of them. The rehearsal process was, believe it or not, so much fun. With only three weeks of rehearsals, I was worried I would be stressed out. But the girls got their lines learned, gave it their all at every rehearsal, and made this an eye-opening and heartwarming experience for me. The performances were just wonderful to watch and so far I have received positive reviews, both from students and faculty. Having an experience like this truly shows you how your classes at Trinity, every single one, will help you in the long run. Through my acting, directing, and design classes I assembled a wonderful cast and a fantastic design crew to put on a production I believe was top notch. I will never forget the month I spent with these people and hope I can have more experiences like this in the future.
A huge part of my semester has been devoted to finding out what the hell I am doing with my life! I have had a few graduate school auditions for MFA in Acting programs. One was in New York City! I spent a whole week there with some friends from London and did URTA, University/Resident Theatre Association. This program brings in around 30 graduate and resident programs and companies to watch auditions all at the same time, a lot like the MWTA program I have done in the past for summerstock companies. I was very lucky to get called back to 3 schools, University of Washington, Illinois State University, and Southern Methodist University. I also had independent auditions at National Theatre Conservatory and Depaul University (for which I auditioned in Chicago last weekend). So far, no results, but we will see what happens!
I did MWTA again this year as well, last weekend, and have not had any offers thus far (naturally, because it has only been a week), so keep your fingers crossed for me! As of now, however, I am in rehearsal for The Misanthrope, for which I have been cast as Philinte! Rehearsals just started, but so far so good. We open in mid April, so try to come if you can!
That is my life in a nutshell for the past 3 months. Coming back to America was tough, but I am back in action and trying to figure out my life and my future. I have determined, however, I have a knack and passion for directing and hope to continue to pursue that, either on the academic or professional level (maybe even both!). Whatever my future, I know what lies ahead is something special. My experiences thus far this year have shown me I have so much more to learn and so many other things I want to experience, so it's time for me to pursue them.
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