Why do we love theater? Is it the marvelous sets? Explosive vocals? The costumes? Surely, all of that is wonderful, but whether you’re listening to the cast album or seeing a show live, you’re going to hear the songs and experience the story. Well, that’s what the best country music is all about. It tells a story.

This school year has been incredibly weird. How do we recover and improve in order to start the next semester right?

Our student bloggers write about how they're coping with the current global health crisis, give insight on their school's performing arts programs, share their opinions on the latest theater news, and so much more. An interview with Buzzfeed stars, all about Summer Stock, perspectives from our international bloggers, and more-- read the latest from our college student bloggers!

As my graduation date inched closer, it dawned on me how I felt somewhat unprepared for what is in store. Especially now that we have been dealing with a global dilemma, I can’t help but think about what is going to happen for the likes of me.

As I come closer to nearing the end of my time at AMDA and see so many friends graduate, something strikes me. I have no idea what's next. In 7 months, I won't be in school anymore. You know, like I've been doing my whole entire life so far? School has been life and now I am about to jump into a life without going to school. Wow. Still taking that in. I'm sure this is me and every other college senior right now.

I am proud to say that I am part of reopening theater experiences in New York City this summer. From planning safe events to checking vaccination cards and directing people through experiences, I have worked diligently to keep in-person, artistic events open to the public.

To me, summer is such a weird time. As a college student specifically, I feel like everyone wants you to have the time of your life, while also working your ass off at a job to get money, or working for an unpaid internship to just try and get a foot in the door at a possible job in a field you enjoy.

I do find that the 'yes, and' mentality is much easier done in real life than within the confines of a stage or classroom. For me, that is. But that doesn't mean it's any less scary. I wrote my college essay all those years ago about how I can make the best of any situation, and can always do things to help myself and those around me using theatre, improv, and on-stage mishaps in an extended metaphor - alongside my formative life experiences.

Much like the characters struggling to piece together their identities in In The Heights, and much like—I suspect—Miranda himself at the time of writing this story, I have never felt more pride in my hometown than now, in my young adulthood.

The Waa-Mu Show has been called 'the greatest college show in America' by the Associated Press. It's one of the largest Northwestern Theatre projects of the year, during which over a hundred students work to create and produce a brand new musical from the ground up under the mentorship of professionals.

Pixar's latest film, Luca, follows a journey of two young sea monsters throughout the human world. Set on the exquisite coast of Italy, Luca (voiced by Jacob Tremblay) discovers that that he becomes human once he leaves the ocean. He soon encounters another morphed-to-human sea monster, Alberto (voiced by Jack Dylan Grazer) who is Luca's age.

The only occupants of the dance studios and the audition rooms were the tumbleweeds of crumpled sheet music and forgotten ballet tights. Our muscles grew tighter and our stamina grew weaker. An entire industry…noiseless. In May of 2021, a switch was flipped. The marquees turned back on and all eyes went to the actors. The time we had been craving had finally come, but as I sat in my Chicago apartment staring at my tripod I had to ask myself, “Am I ready?” 

Why it’s bizarre to show my happiness, or why is it brave? Why did we normalize living a rushed life full of sullen faces, and why showing your happiness is either a show of weakness or craziness?

In adapting Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, I felt that Jon Chu did a spectacular job taking on this crucial story while also taking charge of his creative choices. The movie stands alone from the musical not only because of the different mediums used to express this story but also because the people working on the movie were able to put their own perspective on it. However, the movie still exhibits, in my opinion, the soul of what this musical is about -- bringing focus to an underrepresented community that has so much love, resilience, and determination. 

As the summer begins and restrictions, especially in New Jersey, are quickly being lifted, my local non-profit community theatre company is now able to produce a practically full-scale musical. So, how are they doing it? What steps are they taking to ensure that the cast members remain healthy? What exactly is this non-profit organization about?

Everyday, more and more Broadway shows announce that they are opening again in the Fall. Theaters all across the country have announced their reopening, and many are holding season auditions soon. With more people getting vaccinated, it feels like the theatre world is coming alive again! Some theaters have already reopened!

About two months ago, my mom and I were talking about him and then she asked me if I'd like something signed by him, and I jumped at the chance. Turns out, she was messaging back and forth with his sister-in-law who lives in the same town as us, who said he would be coming to town soon and that she'd give this stuff to him to sign for me.

I watched In The Heights last week (twice hehe), have you? Such a master piece for me. It came in the perfect moment. As you may know, I am Mexican and I am privileged to be able to have an audience that listen to my thoughts and that I am able to make my dreams come true, my 'sueñitos' beyond geographical borders.

The term 'research' is one that gets thrown around a lot, but I feel like there is rarely ever any specificity or clarification given as to how to go about researching. But never fear, that's what I'm here for haha. So the name of the game for researching as it pertains to Summer Stock is all about, literally...names, Venue Names that is (be sure to re-read the 'Venue Types' section of Step #1| Define 'Summer Stock' if you're a little confused). So how to go about acquiring these Venue Names? - MT IGs - Facebook Groups - Master Lists

The journey there is harder than being there and I want to do this for me. I always think that if I don’t try, I will forever regret it and never know what it will be like if I did. In all honesty, there are a lot of moments where I felt so lost and on the verge of giving up. So what keeps me going?

When we all heard about the breakout of COVID 19 in China, I don't think any of us would have guessed that it would find its way over here and that it would be so bad. COVID 19 forced us to do many things including putting our careers on hold. I believe that our career suffered the most and we had to completely reinvent our training process.

Going into my first retail job was a little frightening, but I knew I would be building skills that would serve me well post-graduation. But I didn’t know how closely these skills would relate to theatre.

After finals week, I finally got to see the “In the Heights” movie and it was the best way to begin my summer, but this musical actually got my heart long ago, when I listened to the soundtrack for the first time.

From the very first time I met Olivia (the random roommate), I knew she was one of the coolest people I’d ever known. She wore thrifted clothes and brought her skateboard with her most everywhere. She had a very ‘I don’t care what other people think’ aura to her. Almost immediately, I was able to open up and talk with her without feeling awkward.

During the pandemic, with everything closed, it became even more evident that we need to find a way to have easier access to theatre. We can learn lessons from the whole situation and try to better the industry.