Student Blogger: Imogen Buck

In all of my favorite works, I think that the lessons presented are unique and widely applicable, especially in college. I believe there is so much importance to the messages that some of my favorite stories present. All in all, they don’t just speak to the pieces within which they are articulated, but rather the broader importance of theatre in general and how it can impact people. 

Since I was very young, theatre has been the thing that I orbit. I have always looked at the world through a theatrical lens, in both the way I view society and my position within the communities I am a part of, as well as in the media that I consume.

There's something thrilling about being in rooms you’ve always dreamed of being in, but there can be a lot of imposter syndrome that comes along with it. I recently got the chance to go to Schmigadoon on Broadway’s opening night, and I was on cloud 9 about being there. However, I often felt like I didn’t belong in a room full of such important people and minds. 

A couple of years ago, when I was initially deciding which school to attend, I heavily considered what a day in the life of the students at that school would look like. At Fordham, with two campuses, as a Rose Hill student pursuing a theatre minor, my day-to-day looks different than most, so I thought I would detail a Monday in my life to hopefully give people a better understanding of life at Fordham!

After the sometimes difficult, sometimes depressing winter, it is always nice to refresh, reset, and bloom as spring begins. This spring, I have shifted my focus from the dark, cold of winter to the literal and metaphorical brightness of spring. The world can be so heavy, especially as a college student with seemingly endless, compounding assignments and worries, and I’ve decided this year that, rather than dwell on my own anxiety and stress, I am trying to focus more on the joy and light around me.

As both a self-proclaimed theatre geek and a college student, I am always listening to cast albums and soundtracks, no matter where I am or what I’m doing. Especially during exam season, these albums help me to relax and focus when I am studying or walking to classes, and they also help relieve my anxiety about upcoming exams. This year, I have been consistently listening to five cast albums that have been bringing me joy in my studies as we approach midterm exams here at Fordham University. I thought I would share these albums here to (hopefully) give you some new music to add to your playlist and lifestyle!

To grow and change, some risk is required, and as I’ve grown up and developed my creative skills, I have realized that sometimes the greatest risks yield the greatest rewards. The scariest creative and personal risk that I’ve ever taken was the jump that I took from performance to production in terms of my aspirations, and as much as it unsettled me at the time, it is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. 

I attend Fordham University’s Rose Hill Campus in the Bronx, New York, and the theatre scene at my school is particularly diverse and interesting, though quite confusing to a casual onlooker because of the multitude of different programs and opportunities!

Over the years, although staying motivated and avoiding procrastination and boredom has always been difficult for me, as I have an unfortunate tendency to get busy and then procrastinate assignments until it’s very nearly too late, I have gradually come to realize that I do my best work under pressure.