Tues, Jul. 29
... You by my side
So I get asked at least twice a day, "What are you doing in the fall?" When I say that I'm going into my fourth year as a theatre major, and that I'll have my degree in a year, people invariably ask me, "And what will you do with a degree like that?"
I tell them, "I've been running an amateur theatre company through my church for high-school and college students for about 5 years now, and I want to take it outside of the church and take it professional. I want to have a standard five-show season, and provide a place where kids aged 14 through 20 can explore their creativity and learn about theatre in a hands-on, professional style setting. I want to give them the chance to work with experienced directors, technicians, stage managers, and so on, and give them the chance to try out various aspects of theatre. I want to expect excellence from them, because I know they can give it, and I want them to experience a more professional setting than they would get in a high school drama class or whatever. Eventually, I'd also like to see a separate branch of the company develop that would give them an opportunity to spend part of the summer, or even a year-long commitment for those who are out of school, travelling and using theatre as a ministry in various churches and venues."
I don't know what it is about theatre, or me, or that dream, but every time I tell people, they feel the need to tell me every amateur community play or church pagaent that they've ever been involved in, and how Little Jimmy, their grandson, loves acting and should look me up, and how they think a ministry like that should be run.
I don't think people realize just how much training goes into a theatre degree. I don't think they understand how much more than just memorizing lines there is to theatre. I often get the assumption that a theatre degree is a waste of time, because it's something that "anyone can do," without being trained.
Grrr. Ignorant people irritate me. Especially when they're ignorant about something that I'm so passionate about, and yet don't see it, and don't realize that they don't know as much about it as I do. Not being egotistical--it's just a fact. I have three years of theatre training--I haven't just done high-school plays. I actually know what I'm doing, and it's not always as easy as it looks.
I bet that if I told people I was in med school, they wouldn't start saying, "Well, I took a first-aid and CPR course once, so I think you should do this in your practice..."
But something happier... I got to see Laura yesterday and today. I hadn't seen that girl in 6 weeks or so. I miss her lots. We need to go away somewhere or do a weekend together. It's been a long time since we did anything like that.
infinite || abyss
posted at 1:31 p.m.
