With school out and a newfound amount of free time, summer is the perfect time to participate in new theater activities and expand your horizons. Summer theater opportunities can be found in a variety of locations and formats.

Pocatello was indefinitely the hardest piece I’ve ever worked on, spending a near four months taking a slow Meisner focused process, dropping myself into the lonely world of a small town in Idaho during the 2010s. Our genius director, Andrew Gallant– founder of Green Shirt Studio in Chicago, spent generous amounts of time working a slow paced, piece-by-piece rehearsal process with our cast that centered around not only evoking the emotional life of the characters, but finding the real feeling of the piece in ourselves, which allowed me to find a truth and honesty to performance I have yet to find prior to this show. 

Burnout is a funny thing because it can quickly take something you once had so much love for and change it into a chore. For me, burnout comes from anticipating an outcome, or goal, and forgetting to enjoy the process.

When I graduate from college, move to New York, and start auditioning for jobs, the last thing I want to worry about is finding a day job that is flexible with my audition/rehearsal schedule. This stressed me out for a while, but then I decided to take action and start now.

We’ve officially made it to the point in the school year where “half” can be used to describe both the amount of the semester that has been completed, and the energy we’re putting into our assignments.

Sometimes you do a show, and it seems like there is a little bit of magic packed into it. It feels like a family came together on stage and step-clapped their way into each other's hearts.  Catch Me If You Can had that magic! I was fortunate enough to be not only a cast member in Toronto Metropolitan Theatre Company’s production but also the Head of Wardrobe for this dazzling and wonderful production!

Burnout is no joke.  I can list all these tips that I do, but the truth of it all is that I am prone to burnout, and spreading myself too thin.

I’ve always thought my process was a little all over the place when doing a show and this process has given me more of an outline and a way to organize what I have been doing, which I have found oh so helpful.

Every once in a while, I let in a glimmer of doubt that New York is too scary and I don’t actually like it and I could never live there, but then I go back. I go back and I see all the friends I have out there and I remember how much I love it.

It’s funny, I think most people become fans of 13: The Musical by doing a production in their youth or maybe seeing it back when it was on Broadway. It’s likely something that is tied to nostalgia for a lot of people. For me, I started with the Netflix movie and then discovered the brilliant musical. I’ve always been a fan of Jason Robert Brown’s music, I think “The Last Five Years” is captivating, “Songs for a New World” is completely unlike any musical, and I’ve heard some gorgeous songs from “Bridges of Madison County.” But something about 13 was different.

If you’re like me, you always want to put your best foot forward. This is difficult to accomplish when you don’t know where to start. For every article or TikTok that makes sense, there is another one to contradict it. With the help of some industry pros, I have perfected how to survive an audition without anyone knowing it might be your first.

From my perspective, there is one crucial way to stay afloat in college - organization and planning. It took me a while to get to where I am today, but as a second semester senior, I feel confident that I can navigate whatever chaos gets thrown my way. Using trial and error, I was able to find a few specific tools to assist me in my crazy everyday life.

Student life is a major factor for prospective students to consider when deciding which college to attend. It’s important to know what your college will offer for students outside of the classroom, as college is more than academics. With college commitment season in full swing, it’s the perfect time for me to discuss student life at the University of Connecticut.

Transitioning from Highschool to College is more difficult than it seems as the process of the whole thing is two entirely different scenarios. This means that managing courses and theater hand in hand have to change based on what you do. For me, I am a Musical Theatre major. Although this can actually help in some ways, there’s still a whole lot of work to be done that can conflict with my own responsibilities and theater in general. 

For all your time management and organizational needs, I've made a list of 10 apps on my phone that have helped me to coordinate my plans and handle my course load, responsibilities, to-do lists, etc. during my first year of college. Without the following apps, which I've used more in my fall and spring semester than I ever had before my freshman year in college, I'd be much more of a mess than I already am. So, without further ado, let's look into this. 

Assessment season is upon us. Now that we have reached the time of our spring break, which is three weeks long (!), we don’t have as much time left as we think.

It can be so easy as an actor to get swept up in your identity as an entertainer. In my experience, because I spend so much time and energy on my career, it can be easy at times to forget that I am more than who I am when I’m performing.

In a perfect world, I would be able to manage being a full-time acting student, working two jobs, and partaking in everything my heart desired in my already limited spare time. Now, while I can’t do it ALL per say, I can do pretty close to it. Want to know how? 

College can be very overwhelming for any student. Between homework assignments, exams, and extracurriculars, keeping a healthy balance can be a challenge. You may be wondering how a healthy balance can be achieved. While it can be difficult, the key is to stay committed and organized. Here are some tools I use to remain focused on my goals:

Physical health: Without fail, these remedies have gotten me to the functioning level (singing, acting, and dancing) by opening night. Mental health: Putting your efforts towards school or something completely different does not mean you're losing another opportunity (no matter what Macroeconomics and the opportunity-cost says).

Being a part of the audience when you’re an actor helps you better your craft and allows you to live in the joy of what you do by experiencing it from the outside.

Libraries are amazing because they hold so much content and knowledge, but they're also great public spaces that you can just visit for free. They're great if you want to be by yourself, or if you want to meet people with the same interests as you. If you feel the same way, I hope that you are encouraged to try any of these things, and that you continue advocating for what you are passionate about!

It feels like just yesterday I was arriving at The University of Alabama’s campus in my pink, cloth mask with bright eyes and big dreams for the next four years of my life. If only that freshman girl could see me now as I’m settling into my last semester of senior year. Things are busy, but I am slowly knocking things off my very last academic 'to do list.'

I intended to challenge myself by putting myself in a demanding and new situation. I believe I was really able to enjoy it because I was there for the experience and not totally riding on trying to get the job. However, I still showed up prepared and was ready for anything that they threw at me, and 'come what may' was my mentality.

I obviously learn a lot about theatre from my theatre and music classes, but I’ve discovered the greatest beauty of a liberal arts education are the unexpected moments in which I experience theatre outside of the arts building. These experiences are helping me realize how applicable theatre is in all aspects of life. People are quick to criticize artistic and performance degrees, saying they produce false hopes that result in unemployment. However, I know my theatre degree will be relevant forever, even if I don’t pursue performing.