The first week is always difficult for every college student and for those within an art major it can be one of the most stressful semesters for the year. It is hard enough getting back into the swing of things when you are a gen-ed student it is even worse when you take on the added responsibilities that come with being an arts major. For those who haven't ever done a performing art let me enlighten you and for those who are in the arts enjoy!
Welcome back and now you must audition or get a project going. To be successful as an artist we are told to be making contacts and building a resume. Well that means on top of a regular class schedule which is already hectic. I know a lot of people who do that and have a project/show that they are currently working on then also have a part time job. That is pure insanity! So once you get back to college take on everything can definitely feel impossible.
One thing that is most painful with the first week is if you have an eight in the morning class and it is for some sort of dance class. You don't realize how much you love sleep until you have to wake up at 6:30am and that buzzing alarm goes off. That is one of the feelings that haunts you the rest of the morning. If you walk through the Performing Arts Center after a dance class you will see plenty of people laying on couches and the floor sleeping or crying from being up that early. Of course this is just a joke, but really people nap in the Performing Arts Center all the time to recover from the lack of sleep.
Auditions and callbacks are the bane of any theatre or dance majors' existence at the beginning of the semester. Soon after pretty if you are cast you are sucked into endless hours of evening or late night rehearsals leading up to the opening night. For the crew it was not only the preparing leading up to the auditions that is exhausting it is also the time spent getting to production meetings, making sure rehearsals go on without a hitch, getting the designs sent in and so on. This is even better with classes and other obligations you somehow gain through the rest of the semester. There is nothing you want more than to sleep and watch Netflix. Of course this is not just a struggle for art majors, it is just a generalization for college really.
Though it was super long and seemed like it would never end just revel in the fact you survived. The weekend is here and come next week it will be a new set of challenges! Never give up because this only the beginning of Fall 2016!
