Student Blog: The Beauty of Exploration

You would have been hard-pressed to not see some sort of article over this past week about it being a year since the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Life as we know it has changed drastically over the past year. Many of these have been disappointing changes, but it is also important to see the light in the positive changes.

A year ago it seemed hard to think that I would ever find any good in all of this. The Main Stage musical at my college was cancelled after only two rehearsals. I was sent home from school and faced with so many goodbyes. I felt overwhelmed about everything and I could not help but pity myself. However, looking back on the past year of the pandemic, I can finally say that I was able to find some good in all of it.

This "pandemic pause," as one of my professors would call it, has given me an opportunity to explore my other areas of interest that I have not previously gotten the chance to. Ever since coming to college, I have made theatre my #1 priority, and for good reason! Theatre has always been my biggest passion, so it makes sense that I would want to spend the majority of my time doing it. Since I had invested so much of my life into it, many times closing one show and beginning rehearsals for another soon after, taking some time away from it was a big change for me.

With Broadway shut down and not much theatre going on anywhere else, I needed to find something else to fill my time. To fill the entertainment void in my heart, I started to get very into television. This started as a way to use my time in quarantine but evolved into an appreciation for the industry. Some of my favorite shows that I have binged over the past year have been Gossip Girl, The Real Housewives (Potomac, Salt Lake City, New Jersey, and Beverly Hills), and Schitt's Creek. I realized that I can talk about TV shows literally forever if I want to, just as I could with Broadway shows. I love finding someone else who watches the same shows as me and the small community that it creates. Getting to research more about the ins and outs of the TV industry has been so interesting to me and a great opportunity to learn about something new.

Another way that I have been able to expand my horizons is through a newfound passion I discovered in a class I am taking this semester: podcasting. Prior to this semester, I hadn't shown much interest in the podcast world because I didn't even really know where to begin. This class has given me such an appreciation for the art and craft of digital storytelling ("Podcasting: The Art and Craft of Digital Storytelling" is the official title of the class). It is much harder than one would think to just sit down in front of a microphone and talk. Through this class I have developed my interviewing and storytelling skills, something that theatre definitely helps as well, but just in a different way.

All of this exploration has helped me realize that there are many more fields in the entertainment industry beyond theatre. At times it is easy to get hyperfocused on one thing. It makes sense that this would happen because usually the thing you are fixated on is something that you are super passionate about, but sometimes it is good to just take a step back and look at the bigger picture. When you focus in on one thing, you might miss other opportunities. It is comforting to know that, even with the theatre industry at a stand-still, I am able to find creative outlets in other places.

A year later, I am back in rehearsals for another play and it feels so great! I really did miss theatre a lot, but I am so grateful that I was able to take some time for exploration that I otherwise may have never gotten. With all this being said, of course I am ready for the end of the pandemic and the return of Broadway. Aren't we all? I just think it is important to be able to look on the bright side of things and make the most of any opportunity that life gives to you.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best New Musical - Top 3

1. The Lost Boys

33.4% of votes

2. Schmigadoon!

24.7% of votes

3. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

21.4% of votes

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