I was recently in Trumbull High School's production of Seussical the Musical. It is such a fun show for people of all ages, and I had an amazing experience playing a Bird Girl. However, putting on an incredible show was not always easy or enjoyable. It came with a lot of hard work, but it made the end result even more gratifying. Here are some lessons I learned working on Seussical the past two months that I believe every person in theater can benefit from!
1) Make it your own: When you are cast as a certain part in a show, you may struggle to fully immerse yourself into that given character. This may lead you to watch YouTube videos of other productions in order to copy exactly how your character is supposed to act. However, your directors and producers would not have casted you if they didn't think you were capable of performing that role! Don't stress about fitting your character into a perfect mold. Instead, portray your own authentic interpretation of the character. Your directors will always be there to guide you and tell you what works/what doesn't.
2) Be open to criticism: Everyone makes mistakes, although it would be convenient if we didn't. Nobody gets everything right on the first try, not even famous award-winning actors and actresses. Try not to be offended or frustrated if your directors give you critiques on how to make your performance better. These corrections are not coming from a malicious place- your directors simply want to put on the best show possible. Listen to your directors, have a positive attitude, and try changing your performance based on their suggestions the next time around. This will not only please your directors, but you will feel rewarded when you improve.
3) Practice makes perfect: You have most likely heard this rule before, and it is pretty self-explanatory. No matter what you do in life, greatness cannot be achieved without hard work and dedication. Don't slack off, and encourage yourself to keep reviewing your material. This will have a very positive result in the end.
4) Have fun: As actors, we are constantly stressing about a variety of things- remembering our blocking, memorizing our lines, learning our music, and impressing both our directors/producers and our audiences. Juggling all of these different things may cause us to forget to simply enjoy ourselves! If you keep a positive mindset while onstage, your energy will be reflected to everyone around you. Arguably one of the most important parts of theater is to uplift people, and you won't fail to do so if you just have fun!
Promo video for Trumbull High School's production of Seussical
- Sarah Giaquinto
Junior at Trumbull High School
Member of the NPT Youth Board
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