Theater Analysis

Throughout my high school career waiting for the cast list to be posted after auditions has inspired some of my most anxiety inducing moments. Theater is everything to me. As dramatic as it may sound, since middle school I have sought acting as a means to harvest my creativity and find solace in a complex and saddening world. Therefore, being cast into the play of my junior year was very important to me. Admittedly, getting into this show was not just important for my creative expression, and general love of theater; but, to me, it determined my worth as an actor. I knew I was decent, probably even better, at acting since I had played many major characters in other productions; however, I had only ever been in the ensemble for my high school’s shows. So I reckoned that had shown enough effort and potential through my ensemble work, and held my hopes high that I had finally proven my acting abilities and land

While I grappled with defining my position as an actor, I reckoned that I should at least contribute something to the production. After all, I had a slight glimmer of hope that I could still prove my devotion to theater, and I still truly loved the art as well. Yet, amid this need to prove myself, over the course of the show I began to realize and appreciate the technical elements of theater. In the back of my head I always knew that tech was important, but I never understood the artistic value of it. How a hue of light could draw out a certain emotional response or how a set piece could bring an entire audience into a new atmosphere. I understood the copious hours of work technicians poured into their craft, and felt proud to be a part of that precious community that is undermined too often. Even when I was cast a few months afterwards in the ensemble of the spring musical, I chose to be a part of running crew, and ended up feeling more significant in that crew than the actual