“That’s perfect for my next blog!” I say around five times a day. After seven months of churning out blogs for BroadwayWorld, I have learned one thing: Be a sponge.
I am constantly inspired by the world around me. My creativity as a performer is shaped by the media I consume, other articles I read, and the people who I talk to. No matter where I am at or who I am with, I always seem to connect the world around me to my training, which sparks ideas for BroadwayWorld blogs. Writing these blogs has helped me realize that my education lies not only in the classroom, but in everything I do and everywhere I go outside of my school’s bubble.
Whenever I feel stuck, brainstorming topics and headlines, I just think to myself, “What has been on my mind recently from this month of living in the BFA environment?” I get surprised how easily ideas then flow to me. I just need to pick something that randomly sparked my interest and run with it.
“Fake it ‘Till You Make It,” was my February blog about motivational mantras. The idea started with notes I heard professors giving to my classmates. Although these notes weren’t specifically for me, I made sure to remember them because they might come in handy. Whenever I feel stuck in my acting, I reference these notes, and they refresh my performance. For example, “Stay in the work,” was a simple note that was given to another classmate. It resonated with me so much that I ended up writing about it in my February blog!
“Why Are We Afraid to be Cringe,” was my December blog about going outside or my comfort zone in performance. The idea started because I was thinking about the saying, “to be cringe is to be free,” as I was working on my fall semester recital song. I started to think about campy musicals I have watched recently and how they are often deemed as “cringe.” Then, I thought about how “Camp” was a theme for the Met Gala in 2019. I came to the conclusion that, as an actor, if you are afraid to cringe at yourself or your performance, then something will always be holding you back. I decided that these thoughts I was having might do well in a Broadwayworld student blog, giving insight into what goes through my mind when preparing for an end-of-semester performance.
“With Sprinkles on Top,” was my other December blog. This one was about pre-show rituals. Many of the rituals I wrote about are actually routines that, having been a sponge to my environment, I picked up from other people. For example, I wrote about how I use a tracking sheet to go over my cues the night before a show. I learned this organization tool while rehearsing a show at school. I overheard my director asking the stage management crew about their tracking sheets, and I realized that tracking sheet might help me as an actor. Now, I can't live without it! Additionally, I learned my thank you cards ritual from writing end of semester thank you cards. I thought, “I make these for every end of a semester, so why not make these for every end of a show?”
The most organic idea I had for this blog was comparing ice cream to pre-show rituals. The title, “With Sprinkles on Top,” stemmed from me eating vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles while finishing up the blog. Enjoying my delicious treat, I was still stumped on finding a name for the blog. I glanced down at my ice cream, saw the rainbow sprinkles, and I knew exactly what the name was going to be!
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From overhearing notes to glancing down at my ice cream, I was surprised how picking up on random observations from my environment inspired so many blog ideas! The best thing an artist can do is soak up their environment!
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