Theatre Nerds: I would hope this is not a story that has been particularly overdone, but in case it is, I apologize.
My name is Reagan Drury, and I have spent the last 5 years of my life living in a town of about 900 people in rural Missouri. I know, I know, that sounds like a hick town, and all ingenues come from somewhere like Ohio or Iowa, right?
You will be right about that if I make it in the theatre world. Time will tell on that aspect. I have been doing theatre since I was in 4th grade, and I immediately fell in love with it. I have now graduated high school and am attending a private college in Minneapolis in the fall to study theatre.
My school used to be similar to the one described by Reagan Drury, but our situation improved significantly when we had a change in administration last year. During my freshman and sophomore years, theatre unfortunately did not receive much recognition from the school, mainly because people were more focused on our title-winning football team (no shade to them, they were actually pretty cool!). There were many productions where even the principal didn’t come to see a single show. It was a little disheartening, but we worked through it the same way Drury did: by putting all our effort into the program, taking all opportunities, and focusing on the people who did give us support. Through doing those things, we garnered a community that wanted to support and participate in our theatre. Luckily, we now have an incredibly supportive administration team that makes consistent efforts to improve our arts programs. It’s a shame that some schools still have communities who don’t see all that theatre has to offer. I wish theater would be given an opportunity to shine in these places, because it truly is life-changing.
ReplyDelete-Sammy Williams