All of your hard work has paid off. All the late-night rehearsals, the laughs with friends, the tears over cast lists, and the memories you swear you’ll never forget. You finished your last performance of your high school theatre career. You are on that stage for the last time. You grip the hand of the castmate next to you and take one final bow in front of friends, family, teachers and strangers. Here’s what you learn in these final moments on stage.
It might not hit you at first.
It may just feel like you're in between shows.
It will hit you when you’re at home on a random Tuesday night without a rehearsal.
When's the last time you haven't had a rehearsal on a Tuesday night?
You will miss your friends, a.k.a. your “theatre family.”
Because your parents won't understand your inside jokes.
Stay connected with them.
It takes little to no effort to text your theatre friends and reminisce or gossip about the new Hamilton cast. Once again, you could try to talk about Hamilton with your parents, but they just wouldn't get it.
You will be overwhelmed by so many memories, but eventually, you’ll only remember the significant ones.
The time you started dating your in-show crush, how you felt when you saw your name next to the part you wanted, and all the pre-show rituals like screaming from the top of your lungs even though that’s a terrible idea right before the show. Those are the important memories. You'll forget about how much you worried about all the petty drama that went along with each show.
Memorizing things will become a lot harder when you’re not in the swing of things.
I know that memorizing an 80-page play became habitual, but even memorizing flashcards before an exam becomes a little more difficult when your brain isn't in memorization mode anymore.
You’ll have to find new ways to express yourself.
Start a blog. Take pictures. Write poems. Try something new.
Any chance to act will be fun, but it will never be the same as performing with your best friends.
You can take that Theatre 101 class in college, but please don't set your expectations too high. Acting with strangers is nothing like acting with people you've shared so many good times with.
Don’t let your spark for theatre die.
Go see plays on campus or in your city. Volunteer for a community theatre. Watch YouTube videos of illegally-recorded Broadway productions or watch your show DVDs again. Do whatever it takes because a passion for theatre is a passion like no other.
You may return to your high school theatre department in a year or two and not know anyone involved besides your director.
That only means that it's working. You may not know anyone in the program, but at least those kids are getting to experience what you once got the chance to experience as well.
During your last show, give it your all one last time.
Actually prepare for your audition. Memorize your lines until you begin to dream about them. And don't you dare complain about the late night rehearsals. In some months time, you'll do anything to be back in that theatre at 10 p.m. on a Thursday surrounded by your close friends who may soon fade away.
