When someone says “theater kid,” what is the first thing you think of? From what I know, the person that comes to mind is loud to a point of annoyance, socially out of touch and breaking out into song and dance at random moments. Trust me, that was written with love! As someone who was a “theater kid” for most of their life, some of my best friends are these people. But my childhood hobby hasn’t just taught me how to dance and project my voice. Here are three things I heard throughout my 14 years of performing that I still carry with me in college and will use for the rest of my life.
“TITS UP!”
Never underestimate the power of confidence. When tech week was on the horizon, my dance captains always told us that if we blanked on choreography while we were up on stage, just put a big smile on our faces and fake it till we made it. Make every movement look intentional, especially if you just made a mistake. The audience will NEVER know your choreography step by step, so the only way they’ll know if you messed up is if you show it on your face. For all they know, you simply have a solo in this dance number!
This absolutely applies to life outside of performing — say you’re giving a speech for a club that you’re a part of or presenting something at a job. Trust me, I understand how nerve-wracking it is to speak in front of a large group of people. Sometimes the nerves get to you and suddenly you forget which line you’re on, stutter or mix up a word. Own it. The people in front of you definitely don’t know your speech by heart — unless it’s an assignment specifically about memorization. The only way they’d know you messed up is if you notably pause or show it on your face. As long as you lead with confidence, your audience will never know that you made a mistake in the first place.Â
“LEAVE IT AT THE DOOR”
Sometimes it’s difficult to focus on school or your job due to things happening on the outside. For me, juggling AP classes, three jobs, student government and rehearsals after school was a lot. It was so hard to focus on lyrics and choreography when I had papers to write, or just had an argument at home. I would try to do it all at once, but ultimately this led me to fall even more behind because I was so overwhelmed with everything.
The most helpful thing my director would say was to “leave it all at the door.” She understood that life is demanding, but when you walk into the rehearsal room, the only thing you are responsible for at that moment is your castmates and the upcoming show. It is so crucial to focus your full attention on the task at hand, and take it all moment-by-moment. What can help even more is setting aside specific times in your week to do homework or going through the material you need to review for rehearsal. While many of life’s stressors are unplanned, it is so beneficial to approach every commitment with a clean slate and give it 100% of your energy.
“DO IT AGAIN”
I heard this one a lot. We would often run a dance and not have enough energy or all consistently mess up the same section. When the run-through was finished, we would receive notes on what to do better, grab some water to refresh, and then we’d do it again. Never in my entire life have we cut our losses and scrapped a number because it fell flat. If I hit a bum note when I’m singing or blank on what line I’m supposed to say next, it’s never a sign to just give up.
This mindset got me far outside of the rehearsal room as well. I had a background in dance as a kid, but not the skills needed for cheerleading. When I tried out for my high school’s cheer team as a freshman, I didn’t make it. It absolutely hurt, but I was determined to prove myself and accomplish this. That following year I trained in skills I had no experience in, spending weeks and months bettering myself in this completely unfamiliar sport. I may not have made it the first year (or second) but every failure made me work harder. After every setback I face, I don’t cut my losses. I take a deep breath, reset and then do it again.Â
Life Lessons to keep forever
So yes, theater kids can absolutely have big personalities, but they also have bigger passions and smart methods of reaching them. Although I’m grateful for the training I have gained through theater, my greatest takeaways have been these refreshing ways to go about life. They will follow me through the rest of my college career and beyond.