Theatre Magic by Alyssa

Theatre Magic by Alyssa - December 2013 Scholarship Essay

I discovered myself my senior year of high school on a stage.

I was never a straight-A type of student, and it was hard to get me not to procrastinate. I never really knew what my passions were. I went through high school like a zombie. I would stick to the routine. Go to class. Go home. Do the homework. Go back to class. I didn't see much of a point to it. By my senior year, I didn't even think I was going to enroll in college at all. As a creative spirit with a wild heart, I was sick of routines.

I tried a large amount of extracurriculars and activities throughout my school career. There was always something missing in my creative life and I couldn't place what it was. I tried leadership, yearbook crews, basketball, snowboarding, anime club, and a variety of others. Nothing ever quite fit. Until one day I decided to audition for the fall show my senior year. I did it on a whim. I had been involved in drama classes for a while, but I was always very shy and softspoken. When I was four, I was in a ballet performance of The Nutcracker and I was so frightened that I stayed behind the curtains for a solid five minutes before someone pushed me on. I had never thought acting was for me.

But it definitely was.
I ended up getting a lead role in the fall show, and from there, I skyrocketed. Opening night was still terrifying, but while I was up there on that stage, I had never felt more alive. I dived deep into my drama classes and I joined my school's drama club. I volunteered to help paint, build sets, and organize the costume closet. It was such a refreshing feeling to be passionate about something again. I did everything I could. I found myself in that little theatre, and found that I wanted to study it for the rest of my life. I am now up at Southern Oregon University going towards a Theatre Arts degree. There is nothing more magical to me than theatre, and if I hadn't ever tried out for that show, I may have never discovered it.