Theatre Educator by Clara

Theatre Educator by Clara - November 2020 Scholarship Essay

In Notre-Dame De Paris, Victor Hugo wrote that “ [Frollo] probed his own soul and saw what a large place nature had prepared in it for passion.” Hugo was referencing the passionate, violent lust that the priest felt for La Esmerelda. I believe that Frollo had the choice, as we all do, to fill that place up with a more fulfilling passion — perhaps with his religious conviction, his love for his brother, or his responsibility to his adopted son. Every person is eventually faced with the task of deciding what they will care about and how they will channel that care into positive work. In my life, my passion is for the arts. I would love nothing more than to spend my life filling the place nature set aside in my soul with theatre, dance, music, and other fine crafts. I truly believe that the best possible way to learn and teach about the world is through art: watching art, making art, witnessing the creation of art. I hope to have the opportunity in my future to share the joy that art brings me with as many people as I can. A fantastic teacher once told me that "caring about something is what makes you a good person." I've thought about that nearly every day since. I've taken the advice and put immense amounts of care into everything that I do and everyone that I love.
That teacher is the person, and thing, that I am most grateful for in my education. I have looked at the world differently since I have had the privilege of being taught by him. First and foremost, he has such immense knowledge about everything having to do with theatre, directing, and art. It is unbelievable how incredible he is at what he does. There have been a million other careers and opportunities in his life, but he continues to choose to teach. He sees value in educating young people. He supplies kids who are still discovering who they are and who they want to be, with the support and tools that they’ll need throughout the rest of their lives. He teaches us to be accountable. He stresses the extreme importance of being on time and the beauty that comes from putting your whole heart into something you care about. He once told us, “caring about something is what makes you a good person, so when you find something in life that means something to you, hold on to that.” I think about that advice almost every day. He teaches us to have faith in people - and faith is something that I’ve struggled a lot with not having. He once explained that we should absolutely never use the words ‘I love you’ flippantly. What fantastic advice.
Even with all the obstacles presented by this pandemic, he has given us incredible opportunities online and socially distanced to be together and celebrate art. He has taught us to embrace any and all opportunities when they come. I really want to thank him for not giving up on us. I can’t think of one time that he’s ever thrown in the towel on something he was passionate about, no matter how impossible the odds were against him. All of the opportunities that he has provided me with — classes, musicals, Shakespeare teams, region/state teams, trips to New York City, Theatre Presidencies, Productions Companies, the list goes on — have taught me about theater, but they’ve also taught me about how to be a good person. All of these things all come out of his personal time! He isn’t required, or paid, to do most of them. But he sees the benefit in going the extra mile for us. No one in my life has done a better job leading by example than he has. Mr. Long is truly an extraordinary, wonderful, selfless, well-spoken, quick-witted, intelligent, kind human being. He may very well be the best person that I know. He taught me that in the hardest times, it’s really important to keep doing what you love. We’re in some pretty hard times right now, and he has helped us all get through them. No one else has graced my life through education the way that he has.