Embarking on the end of a journey.

Online theatre school that can’t be real?

Yep… It is real, and I am doing it. I am embarking on my last year of a BFA Acting degree with a fall semester of online theatre. After actively advocating for an in-person education for over four months, the results came in at a catastrophic “no” (maybe I’ll write a blog about that whole situation in the future). As you could imagine, this would not be ideal for an actor going into their last year of training and performing.

But life is what you make out of it, I can sit here and tell you about all of the many reasons why online theatre school would never work, or I can tell you the strategies I’m using to make the most out of my final year of education.

Strategies

Mantra’s – If you believe in what you’re saying or not, saying things mentally or verbally can condition your brain to change its mind. Here are some go to’s for me right now:

– Everything happens for a reason
– This might come in handy
– Online theatre could be a future
– We live in a matrix anyways.

Move around – two-hour online zoom classes destroy my body. I don’t think I was made to sit for that long, let alone pay attention to a lecture while staring at a screen. I am trying:

– Throwing a ball
– Turning off my camera or looking off to the side (giving my eyes a rest)
– Walking around
– Stretching

Reward yourself – I always go into a class now with one of my favourite teas to sip on or a quiet snack. If you reserve a treat that you love and only have it during class, that could help your motivation. I know It helps mine.

Lastly, be kind to yourself – we are living in a new and crazy world, and everyone’s taking this journey at a different pace. It’s important to stay active in the work, but don’t go too far and exhaust your mentality. Listen to yourself, and trust what you need. If you don’t know, ask for help and reach out to a friend or family member. It’s hard taking this journey alone, and you don’t have to.

Reflect

A beautiful gift that this time has given me is the room to reflect. Looking back at the beginning of this journey, I started my BFA 2 years ago. At the time, I would have never imagined that I would enter 4th year (let alone complete most of it online). It seemed like such an idolized position two years ago.

It feels foreign to me, the completion of a degree, the end of a journey. Growing up, I transferred between so many schools; none of them ever felt concrete or final. Sure, in high school, I got a piece of paper with my name on it, but it didn’t mean anything to me. But going into my last year of university is an entirely different experience; it feels honest – necessary.

I have arrived at the point where I am viscously proud to do what I do. I don’t feel the need to hide it when going out or tell my family it’s a steppingstone degree to law school. I spent the last two years working my ass off developing skills I love doing. I think every human being should learn honestly. It would change the world. My favourite part of life is feeling joy, and being able to be inspired. The fact that I get to pursue inspiration as a career, and I will be forever eternally grateful. And yeah, I’m doing that online right, being online hasn’t prevented me from being inspired. It may take a little more effort, but maybe that’s the new normal. Perhaps we are all just adjusting and evolving as a society?

I hope you all are doing well and are embracing joy where ever you can find it.