Student Blog: A Belated Dedication to World Theatre Day

Last Thursday was World Theatre Day, a.k.a. the day that every theatre kid’s Instagram story is suddenly filled with content. But over 60 years since its founding in 1961, World Theatre Day has become more than just a reason for social media activity. 

My personal journey with theatre is one I like to consider that of resilience and passion. I started as a dancer — I was a member of a ballet company in my hometown and spent the first thirteen-or-so years of my life balancing school with dance recitals and productions of The Nutcracker. But I was raised on musical theatre. 

Weekends were spent watching On the Town and Guys and Dolls, and if you’d ask me to name my favorite song in the fifth grade I’d have said “One Day More” from Les Misérables. Or maybe something from Fall Out Boy. 

By the seventh grade, I’d managed to adjust my dance schedule in order for me to audition for the school musical, Hairspray Jr. And a proud featured-ensemble member was born through me playing Shelley. That same year I was invited to be a part of the cast of the local high school production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame since they needed more trained dancers. By the eighth grade, I was performing in my first community show, Singin’ in the Rain. 

Since then, I’ve stuck with it, no matter how often I felt “not good enough” or how many times I heard the phrase “starving artist.” So, after years of dance classes and tech weeks, and a full year of me being convinced I would be pursuing computer science, I’ve landed here: ending my third year of college and pursuing a theatre degree. The journey to that decision is its own full-length blog that I’ll save for later. 

But why? Or, better yet, how has theatre attached itself so closely to my identity? 

On a more personal scale, there’s of course the fact that theatre has made me more comfortable with myself. It forced me to enjoy who I was. For some reason, that’s never been an implicit part of my existence. I know that sounds dramatic, but hey, this is a theatre blog. What else do you expect? Theatre (and writing) has made me truly look at myself in the mirror of self-reflection, cons and all. Through that, I’ve discovered a sense of self-acceptance, which I’ll always be grateful for. 

Theatre, of course, is more than just a personal self-help cheat, though. As an artform, it stands for something greater than itself — the human experience. That’s a lot to credit one thing with, but it’s true. 

I’ve mentioned in a previous blog that I view art as a medium for evoking emotions. A broad definition for sure, but art has a broad range of purposes. Theatre particularly showcases the love, grief, hate, sorrow, and joy that comes with living life. It gives us stories that make us feel seen and stories that otherwise don’t get told by the larger mainstream. Without stories and experiences being told, how else can they be remembered? 

It’s reasons like this that we need to support and appreciate the arts. While it was established to celebrate the arts, World Theatre Day now stands as a representation of all the reasons why we need the arts and the continued fight to support them. Over the next year, I encourage you to reflect on how theatre has impacted not only yourself, but the people around you. Consider, as well, what theatre could do if we everyone supported it as much as it supports us.