We're in the middle of June and you know what that means. Tony Awards. Anyone who has been on stage, worked with a stage or just loves the stage knows how big and important the Tony's are and is on the edge of their seats waiting for June 12. Maybe you can't wait to see if Hamilton will win one of its 16 Tony nominations or you're pumped to see what host James Corden has in store or you cannot wait for all of the performances. Whatever the reason, the Tonys are a time when I reflect on why I am so proud to be a theatre kid.
I've been performing since the sixth grade, when I was 10 years old. My first role was playing the Red Fairy in Sleeping Beauty. I didn't really have a passion for theatre at this time, I was inspired to audition because I was a choir girl and all my friends did. However, when I got to high school I realized that I missed being on stage. The only difference being that my high school performed in an all-women's repertoire, where the girls played men. I auditioned for Alice in Wonderland at age 13, as a first year student, and I received the role of Alice. I'll never forget walking out on stage for the curtain call on opening night and seeing my fellow cast mates with arms wide, the lights in my eyes and the entire audience giving us a standing ovation. I found out the next day that the crowd we had was the largest audience my high school theatre department had ever seen. I kept on with theatre, performing such roles as Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, Linus van Pelt in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
When I got to Notre Dame of Maryland, I was secretly thrilled to find out we also have an all-women's theatre department. I have had the luck of being the titular character in Eurydice, Lady Macbeth in the taboo Scottish play and an ensemble member of our most recent performance, Love and Information. However, none of this is why I am proud to be a theatre kid. Sure, I love performing and hope I can pursue it as a career, but I'm proud because of the lessons I learn from theatre.
In theatre, you work as a group. Without actors, there is no performance. Without lights, you cannot see. Without sound, you cannot hear. Without directors, there is no aim. Without stage managers and hands, let's be honest, we all would be lost. Theatre is the place where I learned best how to work as a team. You learn how to resolve issues quickly and peacefully, how to give and ask for help and how important support systems are. Sure, there are petty fights over roles and costumes, but at the end of the show you truly love your fellow showgirls (and guys). They're the ones who have been there for you for the past four months with six hour rehearsals every day.
That's why I'm grateful for an award show like the Tony's. Who can forget the 2013 opener when Neil Patrick Harris sang, "There's a kid in the middle of nowhere sitting there, living for Tony performances singin' and flippin' along with the Pippins and Wickeds and Kinkys, Matildas and Mormonses. So we might reassure that kid and do something to spur that kid. Cause I promise you all of us up here tonight. We were that kid and now we're bigger." The Tony Awards does something to inspire hopeful actors because we see big stars, child stars and first time actors reach the stage and speak to us in a way that only a fellow Theatre Kid can. Ultimately, I'm grateful for a community of children, teenagers and adults who all know the importance of crafting a story to create a voice for someone unheard.
That is why I am proud to be a theatre kid. Because we are bigger.
