During a high school show, the only thing remotely funny about my uptight character was the way she sassily rolled her eyes at another character. Each night before I went on stage, I would close my eyes, cross my fingers, and summon the “theater gods” that the audience would laugh. While their laughter was satisfying, for me, the most important part of a show takes place behind the scenes.

Through the plays, I had learned to go beyond my comfort zone and take risks. The theater gives me an extra push because with every show comes a new challenge. The characters are always different and the actor can take the role and make it their own. In "The Dining Room," I played Nancy, a neglected housewife whose husband repeatedly ignored her. In preparation for my role, I researched her scene in hope of finding inspiration. I was disappointed to find that Nancy was often depicted as a passive, submissive woman; this, to me, seemed neither interesting nor challenging. I thought about how I would feel if I were Nancy, and immediately determined that I would be angry if I were in her position. At the time, I realized that my gut reaction to anger and frustration would be to bury the pain and mask my emotions. As I had already decided to play a bolder version of Nancy, I would have to openly display her anger; not an easy task considering her limited dialogue and my own inclination. Through facial expressions and the occasional slam of a drawer, I was able to effectively convey Nancy’s feelings.

In addition to giving me the opportunity to escape my comfort zone, the theater gives me the chance to step forward and be a leader. As a senior in high school who was just about to finish her final drama, I was given the biggest responsibility of my theater experience to date: to be a role model, mentor, and friend to underclassmen. With a new director that year, it was especially important for the seniors to step up and pass on the knowledge that we had accumulated from our past experiences. Our previous director had a different philosophy for the theater program. He structured rehearsals so that at the beginning of each production, we would all come together as an entire cast. This allowed us to both get to know each other as individuals, and unite as a team. Conversely, the new director began rehearsals by immediately separating the cast into their respective scenes, making bonding and team building more difficult.

I decided that in order to encourage bonding, I would bring back the “compliments” exercise whereby the entire cast exchanged meaningful compliments with one another. I found that it was important to bring back this tradition, and I worked with the other seniors to incorporate the practice into each rehearsal.

As small as this exercise may sound, it helped build trust and camaraderie amongst the cast, serving as a foundation for new friendships. Prior to the first rehearsal, I had never met some of these newer faces, most of which were freshmen, but towards the end of rehearsals, they felt comfortable enough with my fellow classmates and me to seek advice on anything from theater pointers to personal matters. I was always honored whenever they sought my advice.

“Senior gifts” are another tradition where the underclassmen write a note to each senior at the end of a production. One of the freshman’s notes to me touched deeply, especially when they said “I know I can trust you with anything and vent to you at any time.” I will always be grateful to my high school theater family for helping me push my boundaries and grow as a person. Now that I am in college, I am also thankful to the new people that I am meeting everyday through theatre. My time spent in theater programs has taught me many things, none of which are confined to the stage.