Student blogger Emily Townley talks about her theatre (and non-theatre) related plans!

We put on four different productions every school year, three of which are plays, and one of which is a musical. Each of these is different, too — let me explain.

This summer, I decided to take on the task of choreographing the entirety of Seussical KIDS for a middle school summer program. I have never done anything harder, and I have never loved anything more.

It starts small. It always does. You’ve been hit by the theater bug.

What’s not to love about two career enemies staying in neighboring beach houses for the summer and falling in love through forced small-town interactions? Whether you’re escaping to your beach house, interning at a big corporation, or working a minimum wage job to pay the bills, fantasizing about these dramatic romances will bring the beach to you.

Throughout my theater career, I have gone through periods of time where I have no confidence. I feel like I am a fake or not good enough or an imposter. So over the years, I have found a few tactics that help me maintain confidence and stay out of my head when I start to feel the negative thoughts overshadowing my abilities.

'Productivity for my career doesn’t necessarily have to mean auditioning and taking jobs. It can also mean taking care of myself.'

I don’t think I’ve ever left an event feeling quite so inspired to work on my writing and wanting to work on new work. This festival was truly inspiring and I left having learned so much from all of these wonderful people.

How do I keep the MT flow going? I practice music I’m working on almost every day, strengthen my knowledge through books, and learning new monologues to have in my back pocket for the upcoming school year and beyond! A good way to multitask is doing any of these tasks while getting a tan outside! It’s nice to take a break from performing, but for myself, who is still quite new to theatre life, I like to keep my brain fresh!

This summer definitely looks different from what I had planned back in January, but I am thrilled with the way things have turned out. I’m learning to take things day by day and enjoy every opportunity that comes my way. Between visiting friends and family, taking time to rest, and embracing new experiences, I know this summer will be balanced and full of joy.

This summer, however, I am a student in group A of the Stella Adler Summer Conservatory program. This post is going to be a little introduction into my first two weeks there. So far, I haven’t found a class or a professor at Stella Adler whom I’ve disliked.

I'm a theater lover, so the Tony Awards is important for me. But I am currently living in Canada as an international student, and that means that I can’t watch the Tony Awards as easily as those who live in the US. I did some research on how to watch it from here, but with a tight budget, it's definitely a challenge.

The FOMO of it all is really getting to me. Securing an internship, moving out, and just general adulting is almost expected of college students and it’s been kind of discouraging watching my peers achieve their own goals while I feel like I’ve fallen behind. Despite what’s happened, I’m slowly realizing that I can find my “perfect summer” in more unexpected ways.

I will be honest; I've never had a summer break before because we don't have any seasons in Malaysia. It has always been the constant heat with long schooling semesters since I was in primary school and at least a week to a month's break in between terms.

Each year high school seniors across the globe work tirelessly on college applications. At my high school, students typically apply to a range of 3 to 8 schools. While the normal college process is already time-consuming enough, those seeking a college experience on the stage live out a completely different senior year.

That’s part of what summer is about: family. Whether it be your biological family, the family you find through the cast of a show, or your friends who become your chosen family, you want to spend your summers with people who make you happy.

I’m from San Antonio, Texas, and have never visited New York before. When the amazing opportunity to spend my summer with The Glimmerglass Festival appeared, there was no hesitation to say yes. A dream to work alongside and learn from industry professionals came true. Now that I’m here, I’ve found myself in the middle of a beautiful nowhere which also happens to be where opera is being produced by world-class artists. It feels random, but it is extraordinary.

Summer really is a balancing act, almost more-so than the school year because of its impromptu nature, but I’m confident I can both enjoy it and use it to its fullest potential.

School is finally over. I let myself sleep in for as long as I could. Then when I wake up, I eat whatever I wanted, and binge my favorite series. It’s like revenge. I didn’t get to do that for the past months, so now I’m gonna. But then I realize that after all that, I will have that itch to be productive again. What should I do this summer?

I could not be more excited for the summer I have ahead. I look forward to meeting lots of students my age who share the same passion for musical theater as I do at the Paper Mill Playhouse Conservatory. And most of all, I cannot wait to spend my days doing what truly makes me happy.

As you get older, you begin to lose that childish part of yourself that made you feel so sure of who you are and you look for pieces to replace it. You are exposed to new emotions you never had to confront, emotions your parents never thought you’d confront. Emotions that boil at the surface and splash and burn everyone around you. But you don’t know how to handle it, you can’t find the knob to turn down the heat and reduce to a simmer.

Whatever it is you’re doing this summer, enjoy it. Take time to care and tend to yourself in ways that you’re not able to during the school year. Read, relax, laugh, make memories. Challenge yourself personally and professionally. Restore your zest for life while the sun is still shining!

If you’re not going out on a contract for the summer, DO NOT BE WORRIED! This is not a time to bog yourself down and feel bad for yourself - in fact, there’s two things you can do about it...

Hello again, readers! I hope you all are well! Happy summer vacation, to those of you who have completed your spring semester of school! As I have just completed my first full year of being a college student, I wanted to take an opportunity to reflect on the things I wish I knew before college. For most, college is the first time “adulting,” if you will, and that comes with a learning curve. The struggles I discovered this year and worked towards solving aid in my understanding of what it is to live, as I continue to discover more.

So, I sat down in my usual seat, the teacher took attendance, and then asked everyone who knew what Chat GPT was to raise their hand. Every hand flew up.