Running Start

Day: 17

Location: Swiss Cottage

Well, it has begun. This year of change, of growth, and of a whole lot of hard work. Monday marked the first day of grad school. Walking into that building Monday I was overwhelmed with a number of conflicting feelings. The excitement of beginning something new, but the fears as well. Joining me in the lobby that morning were 20 odd other students, all with different experiences and backgrounds, all going through the same thing. However, all of us being theatre students, instead of a room of silent nervous students we had a talkative group of potential friends. All of us trying to find our balance, make sure that we belong.

After all of the paperwork and technicalities were finished they put us right to work. None of this easing us into classes, we started right away. Every teacher this week has made it clear that this is going to be an intensive course. We are no longer undergrads, we are all here to work. And work we shall. We had running and yoga in fitness, high stakes dodgeball in acting, and detail work in physical theater. We of course had the obligatory name games, the talks about expectations, about projects and curricula. But beyond that we worked. This week we were stretched, prodded and pushed. And this is exactly why I am here.

I may be sore and tired right now, but I am also very excited. I am nervous about the coming year. There are worries about the workload to come, about living up to expectations both external and internal. Fears of not changing, not improving, or of not improving fast enough. Fears of not being good enough, or of not being able to get what I need out of the course. But, there is also the certainty that this is what I want to be doing, what I have to do. The thrill of embarking on a life changing journey. The excitement of gaining knowledge from both my teachers and my peers. The amazing fact that I will be collaborating with this group of talented individuals, each of whom brings something different to the table.

Yesterday morning we watched each other perform for the first time. Ultimately this was for all of our professors to remind themselves who we are, and begin to assess our skills for the work ahead. However, this was also for us. Although we had begun to get to know each other none of us really had any idea what the others could do. And WOW, its amazing what they can do. There are I believe 21 of us in our course, and every single person was different. Ok, of course we are all different that is a given, but even so. It was incredible to see the range of style and talent, voice and physicality. The students for whom English is their second language were encouraged to sing something in their mother tongue. That was amazing. We heard a South Korean folk song, Greek Orthodox chant, The Little Mermaid in Greek and a Chinese pop song. We have students from all over the UK, with an amazing range of dialects to match. We have songwriters who can write hilarious songs about facebook stalking, and beautiful ballads on bass ukelele and piano. We heard pieces from shows spanning the whole of musical theatre. From Iolanthe to Spring Awakening, from the King and I to Les Mis, from Cabaret to the Last 5 Years and more. Every person who stood up to sing reminded me just how much I love this. I cant wait to work with all of them.

This year is going to be incredible.