March is Theatre In Our Schools Month here in the United States, and it's an entire month based on spreading awareness of how amazing theatre is and how it changes lives. It's changed mine in so many ways.
Theatre is so much more than saying some lines on stage in hopes of getting a reaction from the audience. It's so much more than staring at the camera and pulling a funny face. It's a lifestyle. It's a passion.
For me, theatre is my outlet. Whenever I’m having a bad day, I know that I just have to make it through a few classes before I can step into the theater let it all melt away. It's therapeutic. You get to play a character that's often completely different from how you truly are and you get to see life through different eyes. All of my bad feelings go away the second I stepped on stage.
Theatre has made me more confident. Anyone who knows me personally may not believe that, but it's true. It's allowed me to speak my mind and get over some of the anxiety I struggle with.
My theatre troupe has given me a home. Silverado’s theatre, troupe 5489, has given me a family. I would do absolutely anything for almost everyone I’ve become friends with, and I don't just mean in my own school. Through conferences, competitions, and the Jesters Improv League, I’ve made friends I never would've met otherwise. I keep in touch with kids from all over the country and all over my own city. How cool is that? Without theatre, I never would've been able to make these connections.
Theatre has also taught me so many things that will help me later in life. I know how to speak comfortably in front of a large audience, as well as make myself loud enough to be heard (though I’ve never truly had trouble with that). I know how to work with others and not dominate a scene the same way I wouldn't dominate a work place. Through the improv league I compete in (which I wrote an article about) I’ve also learned how to think on my feet and come up with a solution to a problem on the spot.
That's just how theatre has impacted me. Imagine this passion on a global scale. Anyone who does theatre loves it. We wouldn't do it if we didn't.
Theatre is so much more than just a stupid activity. It's so much more than just wanting to be famous. It's my everything.
Donald Trump wants to stop funding the arts, and that means he wants to stop funding theatre in schools. Do you understand how horribly that would affect so many people? Some of us need theatre in one way or another.
Please, support your arts programs. Support your thespians. Support any theatre program you ever see. It doesn't just have to be March to celebrate the hard work we do.
