Student Blog: Chip On My Shoulder: The Start of Sophomore Year

I’m signed up for 20 credit hours this semester and you could say, “with the chance I've been given, I'm gonna be driven as hell.” As a double major (BFA Musical Theatre and BS Theatre Arts Administration), a work-study employee, an actor in productions, the president of a club, and an honors student, I’m beyond booked and busy. Trying to get back into the swing of things has been interesting to say the least. Continuously learning how to manage my time has definitely been a focal point as I take on more responsibilities. Between moving in, starting classes, being cast in shows, and more, the semester has already been jam-packed. At times, it feels like I’ve been back on campus forever. 

While I did love being back at home this summer, I did miss campus a lot. It’s great being in an environment where you’re so focused on bettering yourself in your field. Unless you’re interested in doing more schooling after undergrad, this is the sole point in your life when you’ll have the chance to better your craft surrounded by so many peers and with access to so many teachers. It’s an experience like no other, and it’s important to really soak up all the information while you can. During summer break, I had the opportunity to put everything I learned during my freshman year into practice at my job. As an improv actor, I took a lot of lessons from rehearsals with our improv troupe club on campus, the Acting Fundamentals course I took, and more. Having time during breaks to take what you’ve learned into a professional setting is something to take advantage of. I’m excited to keep building on this. 

Moving in this year was different from last year, considering that I am now living in a house on campus instead of a big dorm. Rather than my roommate being the only one moving things in, my housemates were all moving things in as well. With this, there was a challenge of arranging items in shared areas like the kitchen and navigating the space while so many things are coming in. Coordinating with who you live with about how move-in will work is so important when coming back to campus. So far, I’ve really been liking this change though. The ability not to rely on the dining hall, having a room with a better layout, having a living room, the fact that one of my housemates has a cat, and having a porch have all been amazing. With this, another thing that I’ve specifically been loving a lot is the dinner rotation that I’ve begun with my roommate and one of my housemates. Instead of always independently having to figure out what to eat, we each cook dinner once a week for all three of us. All of us are theatre students in rehearsal, so not having to worry about dinner as much has been working so well. We’re all really enjoying getting to try out new recipes and cook more than we have in the past. My favorite things we’ve each made so far are my roommate’s pastina, my housemate’s musubi, and my fried rice.

Some highlights of the classes I’m taking include Fundamentals of Entertainment Design, Principles of Management, Jazz I, Voice Instruction, and Management Studio. I declared my second major in Theatre Arts Administration last semester, so it’s been exciting transitioning into taking classes focused on management. Within Management Studio, some of my assignments so far have included scripting videos to be posted on our department’s social media, writing a section of our theatre arts newsletter, being a head usher for our first production of the year, and acting in social media videos. On top of that, this is my first semester taking voice lessons! Having courses that you are passionate about is crucial, and this one has been a standout for me. The goals that I’ve set are to add more baritone songs to my rep book, working on legato ballad singing, and working on my falsetto. We’ve been doing a lot of weirder exercises that go up and down the scale, and I’ve been feeling a lot more solid about singing at the top and bottom of my range. I’ve gotten to apply this practice in rehearsals for Sweet Charity. Singing as Daddy Brubeck is pretty low, and this improvement has been helping as I work on his character in the musical.

As this semester continues, midterms are coming in hot. Balancing homework, studying, and rehearsals is always a challenge as a theatre arts student. With this, having a list of what I have to complete and a schedule of where I’ll be running around to each day really helps me along. If there's one thing I keep learning over and over it's that you need a chip on your shoulder.