I'm Tati, and I am currently in my last year of college studying music performance. Here is a rundown of what is currently going on for me this semester!

Ever wondered what life would be like while pursuing a major in theatre? Here's a glimpse into my life as I pursue a BA in Theatre Performance in NYC. In this post, I'll give insight about my schedule, advice about the first month of college, and hopefully make you laugh! Enjoy!

An insight into the current academic year so far reflecting on my classes and what student have to look forward to as well as that, discusses the highs and lows of returning to class after the Summer Break.

Take a deep breath, Maddie. You know, you need it.

Maintaining academic integrity, at its core, is the practice of putting forth your best effort in every assignment, exam, or other endeavor, and relying on your own abilities and knowledge to be successful. While the application of this idea may change as we go through our academic careers, the general principle stays the same.

Something that I’ve really connected and found solace in over the past few weeks is that college isn’t necessarily about following set guidelines to a degree (although it totally is partially about that) but also in discovering interests and what works in life for me and trusting that sticking with it will get me to where I need to be.

The first few weeks of the semester have been a little stressful, as I am readjusting to having to balance school, theater, and maintaining a social life.

Next year, I’m definitely signing up to be PM again - whatever show it may be - I want to do this again before I graduate. 

Truthfully, that’s how I’m feeling at the moment. I’m wondering how I’m going to make time to do theater, write articles, host events, do homework, while also having midterms right around the corner. While I recognize that studying is important, how can I study for my midterms when there’s still so many things that need to get done?

Every musical theatre program has standout qualities. During my personal audition process of over 30 schools, I witnessed an array of these qualities first hand. Proximity to theatre districts, agent signing statistics, masterclass opportunities, and varying credit requirements are just a few of the qualities that most schools boast. The most appealing quality to me, however, is outstanding faculty.

I try to tell myself that that the stories I have to tell are incredibly important and that I should tell them. And I am learning to believe that. All of our stories deserve to be told and need to be told.

If I were to describe this semester so far in one word, I would say busy, however, I have a sneaking suspicion that that will be my word of choice for EVERY semester.

My favorite time of the school year is coming up! Audition. Season. Woo! In my program we audition for the winter and spring show together. And no matter how your school’s audition progress goes, most people can agree on one thing. We are all nervous. While we do our best to look and feel confident in the room, that does not shake away the jitters in our brains. I’m here to tell you some of my favorite tips and tricks for calming those little audition nerves!

Academic integrity is about a student’s responsibility and honesty with their school work. Of course there is so much more involved with this term, but the main point is that you should be expected to have “Academic integrity”. As I have mentioned before, on many occasions I have felt my motivation for work fade in and fade out. It’s hard to maintain the passion for school work and the academic integrity of it all, but do not let that all disappear completely!

Since I’ve gone back to school, my time has been split between classes, writing for my college’s newspaper, and lots and lots of theater. I’m in two productions right now—Legally Blonde and Newsies, also known as arguably two of the most iconic 21st century musicals—and auditions happened to be just a few days apart, making the first week of September a theater-filled week of craziness.

This past week, I had the absolute pleasure of debuting a brand new play of mine at my school, Dobbins Conservatory for Theatre and Dance. This is probably one of my new favorite pieces I’ve ever written and I’m sad to let it go so soon, but I could not be happier with how it went. This month, I wanted to talk briefly about Roulette, what it is, how I felt about it, how I came upon writing this piece, and just how cool it is that I get to do this.

Despite my love for performance, I often find myself falling into the mindset that I’m making a mistake choosing acting as my career path. That it’s not worth all of the work, the blood sweat and tears. But whenever I experience live theatre, I’m reminded why this is what I’m doing.

I realized that I wasn’t getting what I wanted to get out of my schooling. To fix this, I had to listen to my body and rest when I was tired (which was one of the reasons I started cyber school in the first place) and also advocate for myself.

When I started my program in media and broadcasting, I realized how extremely important integrity is. It can make or break my future career in media. To me, integrity is closely connected to how trustworthy and dependable you are as a person. As a student, that can be reflected in your behavior. People can see your values as a student. And you will carry them with you through your professional life.

I am entering my final year, and part of it is working at our school’s radio station. And on my first day of the new semester, I found out that I was going to face my biggest challenge yet. I will have to host my own late night radio show. There were a lot of things that I didn’t expect going into this job. And that’s when I felt grateful for having a theater background.

As prepared as I was for my 2nd year, leaping back into action after three long months of the summer has landed me in a spot where I’ve suddenly forgotten the pace of my rhythm.

Academic integrity, to me, means a lot of different things. Not just submitting honest work on time, but doing each assignment to the best of your ability. So how do I maintain this, despite the struggles with mental illness, and a packed, rehearsal-filled schedule?

Second week into classes, the back-to-school season is up and running! I’m really happy to be back at school doing what I love with the people I love for my second year as a musical theatre major. Being a sophomore, I feel like I definitely have a better hold on navigating things around campus, but there’s also a lot of new additions to my school's performing arts program this year, which is keeping everything (as always) a learning experience!

ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME ends with the Little Girl in the show being told to 'tell me a story'. I think one of the most incredible gifts I've gotten from ONCE UPON A ONE MORE TIME is my story. A story of a summer that I never expected. A story of a summer that I will remember forever.