This community is big but small at the same time. You'll likely encounter a lot of the same people at auditions. Stick around long enough, and you'll end up doing a show together.

I literally find drama everywhere I go, whether it’s in my own exceptionally dramatic behavior, or in the universal human habits, I notice which are sneakily Tony-worthy. I’m spending my summer in my hometown, and not doing very many theatrical things. But upon returning home, I was almost immediately struck by a rather intrusive recognition of drama in my life. 

I love a good shock factor in theatre. I love when something really surprises and resonates with me in a production, it makes me admire the work of the director and actors even more; it shows that the cast and crew are not afraid to take risks.

Though I’m a fan of shock factors, I’m not a fan of all shock factors.

It’s safe to say that people in the world of theatre tend to have particularly strong feelings about the artform. Fans and critics can (and will) loudly and vehemently debate everything from the merits of a particular casting decision, to the trends of the day, to who deserves the Tony.

Someone else’s successes doesn’t equal your failures. You are worthy, you are talented, and you belong right where you are. Do not let self-doubt control your life.  

Depending on where you live the theatre scene usually dies down a little during the summer months, expect for the occasional Shakespeare in nature performance. So what do you do during the summer if your life is theatre?

One thing that I have seen a lot more often around my theatre community is that people are bad mouthing their first theatre community. Sometimes we don’t realize that other people in our theatre circle are listening to what we have to say about different topics. Including this one which has so much to do with how we are viewed by others, especially potential directors you might work with in the future.

May is #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, and Broadway is no stranger to mental health issues. Anxiety and depression have been tackled head on in recent hits like Dear Evan Hansen, and Be More Chill. These shows have brought the issues out of the shadows and into the spotlight by weaving relatable stories of characters who suffer into heartbreaking raw and honest songs.

Devised Theatre is defined as a method of theatre-making, also referred to as collective creation, in which the performance originates from collaborative, often improvisatory work by a performing ensemble. It has grown more popular over the years, and it has contributed to a large part of theatre-making.

There are so many ways you can go about devised theatre. You can start with a central theme that you want to base your piece on, which leads to research and acquiring knowledge regarding the subject so that you can then decide on the message you would like to pass on to your audience. Another way of starting out is by workshopping methods and/or exercises to create pieces that might then make it to the piece later

Dear theatre goers…

I am writing this because I am extremely disappointed with the behaviour I have seen, so I’m here to enlighten you on basic theatre manners. There is no secret hack to being at the theatre; there is one simple necessity, however.

It’s called respect.

Young people today are bombarded by images of what they ‘should’ look like, due to social media exposure. The ‘perfect’ body is just a societal construct and this unhealthy ideal needs to be eradicated. Young people should be encouraged to accept themselves no matter their shape and size, and to be confident in themselves as people. No one likes horrible people, even if they are a size petite. The popular movie musical Grease is still hugely popular today, and while the songs are undeniably catchy, I don’t think the message portrayed by Sandy’s drastic change at the end of the movie is entirely the right one to be sending out to today’s impressionable teens and young adults.

One of the most amazing things about theatre is that it is something that can be enjoyed by a wide variety of people. There is a play or musical out there for everyone. Even more amazing than that is the impact that theatre has on people’s lives. My experience in working for a theatre company for adults with learning disabilities has shown me just how important theatre is in improving the quality of their lives.