I jumped at the opportunity to join the scenic crew of one of UCI's mainstage productions. Three days before tech, I replaced someone who dropped out, and when I looked at the tech schedule, I realized that tech rehearsals began on Friday. My Thanksgiving break lasted about 24 hours, and luckily enough, I live less than an hour from campus, so I was fortunate to be able to go home for Thanksgiving.

As the quarter rounds out to a close in the next two weeks, the stress of final assignments slowly creeps up on everyone. Being in the arts school means that often times, there are not really any final exams; instead, most final grades consist of scenes, monologues, or any other type of performance-based evaluation. I have almost all of the above. I am three production papers, one scene and a 10-minute play away from winter break, and let me tell you, it's getting to me.

Life after graduation can be daunting! You may be wondering where the best place is for you to locate yourself as an actor. You might be interested in pursuing something specific (Ex: Shakespeare companies or Improv) or you might be looking to go straight for a busy city like Los Angeles or New York. But sometimes your work may take you to a location that may not be super theatre oriented. Here are some tips for making the most out of any city/state you're in!

My fall quarter at SCAD just ended last week and now I'm off until the beginning of January for my winter break. One of the classes I took as a dramatic writing major was playwriting and I got to thinking about some of my favorite plays that I would love to share with people and hopefully they can experience for themselves one day. You can also add these to your Christmas wish list if you so desire.

For those of you who are currently in school, maybe it's your senior year of high school, maybe it's your first semester in college, or maybe like me, you're a transfer student. No matter where you are in your educational journey, it's now the point in the semester when life seems to snowball. Deadlines start looming, friends may be more irritable, the pages of your planner are full of due dates and reminders, and the list goes on!

This week I wanted to give you some ideas for your next movie night. We all love musicals and understand that hunting for bootleg copies of your favorite Broadway show is bad, so what do we do when we want to watch a show but can't make it to the theater? Movie musicals!!! I'm going to tell you five of my personal favorites to watch when I'm having a movie night, and I think you'll enjoy them if you haven't seen them already!

As any student with a tight budget knows, one of the main goals when seeing a show is to try to get a seat that is cheap yet allows me to still see at least 50% of the stage. I tend to spend my mornings in London waiting in line at the box office in the hopes of getting a cheap ticket with a relatively good view for the price.

Where do you get inspiration from for your art? As a sophomore dramatic writing student, I decided to take three dramatic writing classes this quarter, which could be kind of ambitious, but I've loved the challenge. I've also enjoyed getting to create so many new stories and analyzing television shows, films, and plays throughout the quarter. The struggle to find inspiration for your art, especially as a writer, can be extremely difficult at times.

As an aspiring actress there are certain routines I keep whether I'm actively rehearsing for a show or not. Listening to Musicals, reading scripts, and posting theatre memes.

At the end of last week, the schedule of courses for winter quarter came out, also known as The Week That Lauren Freaks Out For A Solid Five Days Over Which Courses To Enroll In. As a third-year, I am fortunate enough to be nearly done with my required courses for my major, so I now have the flexibility to take more courses that are not necessary for graduation. For both Literary Journalism and Drama, I am required to take upper division electives in each department.

So you've gotten the email. You've been called back for the role you really want! Sheet music and Scene sides are attached. You're halfway there! But your palms start sweating as you realize the inevitable: There are 5 or more people out there who just got the same email as you and are up for the same role. You may be asking yourself: How do I stand out? How will I know what the director wants? How should I dress?

Let's face it- as fun and exciting as college can be, campuses are a bit of a cesspool for germs! With winter rearing its head and temperatures dropping, it's important to think about maintaining your health! If you happen to be a performer, your body is your instrument, and keeping germs and sickness away is something that should always be on your brain.

This past week I got to experience my second film festival at SCAD. Being a dramatic writing major, screenwriting and playwriting, it is hugely important to me to get to not only see these incredible films that I may not get a chance to ever see in a theater or even on DVD but to get to hear from the honored guests about their creative journeys and their advice to upcoming actors, writers, directors, and more.

I am not a morning person. When I told my best friend that I would be taking an 8am acting course this quarter, I remember him laughing in my face. The thought of me getting up early to go to class is pretty comical. I thought I'd despise 8ams way more than I actually do. There's something kind of great about an 8am course that I couldn't quite put my finger on until now: I'm just too tired to care.

Tech week has begun at the University of California, Riverside! If you've worked on a production, you may be familiar with the term 'tech week'. Tech week is when rehearsals are usually extended a couple of extra hours per night and it's extremely grueling, but it's also when you get to see all production elements come together off paper for the first time.

Within our theatre department at Ithaca College, we have five majors: BFA Musical Theatre, BFA Acting, BFA Theatre Production & Design, BS Theatre Arts Management, and BA Theatre Studies, or the 'BATS.' To some people, Theatre Studies is the catch-all major, where those who do 'everything else' go. While it's not entirely untrue that playwrights, stage managers, directors, and dramaturgs end up as BATS, I like to think of it as the major for multi-hyphenates.

This tech week is a rough one. Now, I know that no tech is a walk in the park, but trying to manage a particularly rough spot with my own mental health and to be fully present and active as a member of a creative team doesn't make things any easier.

If you're a college freshman, or a transfer student like me, who has finally made the big (and seemingly scary!) decision to move away from home to study theatre in college, CONGRATULATIONS! It is an exciting journey with lots of navigating to be discovered and in the long run, definitely helps you to find your own individuality.

College has taught me the importance of being gentle with yourself, and I am still learning just how crucial this is. Northwestern University, as well as numerous other Universities/Colleges in the world demand much out of not only its students, but its faculty, and pushes us to places we've never been before. College contributes to our lives our highest highs and our lowest lows, and can create heartaches and headaches as we strive to be the best version of ourselves.

UC Irvine's drama department has this fun little policy that if you're absent twice, your grade drops a?" of a letter grade and two tardies count as one absence. You're officially tardy the second the clock strikes the hour. For me, the graduate student teaching my acting course takes roll at 7:59am. I'm usually ridiculously early to everything, but even I scoffed at this policy. You're late if you are in the classroom at 8:00am? According to the person who determines my final grade: absolutely.

Last Friday, I got to attend my first ever production of The Rocky Horror Show and I'm so appreciative that shows like this exist. It wasn't a shadow cast production, which means a cast performs in front of a screen showing the movie and the audience can have props that interact with the cast. It was a live production with set pieces and hilarious callbacks from the audience whenever the cast members would say certain lines.

So, you've decided to double major? Or from the fact you opened up this article, you're considering it at the very least...(unless you're my parents, but that's an exclusive exception. They're morally obligated to read it). However, regardless of how you stumbled upon this article, I hope it is of some benefit. As a double major, I've noticed there's a lot of wide-eyed stigma around it. I'm here to break down the fears, misconceptions, and expectations associated with it.

We all love the big hits of our favorite musicals. There's nothing like belting out 'Defying Gravity' or 'So Much Better' when you're driving alone, but there's so many songs that get overshadowed by the popular ones. I made a list of 10 amazing songs that need to be appreciated more!

A few weeks ago I saw The Lightning Thief. Usually when a show opens, I don't read the reviews. But in this case I decided to read the first one I saw. And by the end I had very clearly reminded myself why I never read reviews. This show's reviews are just one part of a wider problem: the field of theater criticism as a whole. We need to completely revamp the way that theater is reviewed and the way that theater reviews can bring down a show.

I've done lots of shows and been a part of many casts throughout my life, and one of my favorite parts of any production process is bonding with my castmates. There's nothing like the camaraderie of working with your peers to create a piece of art that you're all proud of. However, especially in college, many shows don't have a super long production process, and this can make it hard to get close to your cast and make friends. It's not impossible, though!