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By shestartedit, Monday, June 22, 2009The summer before my senior year in high school, I attended my state's Governor's School for the Arts program, in Drama. I lived on a college campus for four weeks with other aspiring actors, and at the end we performed a play at a professional theater.
By the time I arrived at Governor's School, I had been acting for several years in various school productions. I loved being on stage, the challenges of assuming a role, and the camaraderie of the theater. At Governor's School I had a blast. Our group of actors formed a tight bond. We ate every meal together and rehearsed scenes until late into the night. We were best of friends by the time the the final curtain came up.
But I came away from the program incredibly humbled -- I knew that I did not possess the talent to make it as an actor. I shared a stage with other teens who had been acting professionally since they were toddlers, spending hours in acting classes and weekends performing in shows. Besides the fact that they had a gift for acting I didn't posses, they made sacrifices I couldn't dream of to accomplish their theater goals. I was in awe of the devotion to their craft.
When I returned for my final year of high school, I didn't try out for the fall play. For the spring production, I auditioned for the chorus mainly so I could hang out with the friends I'd made over the years. After high school, my only involvement in theater was as a spectator. Although that summer intensive was ultimately responsible for my parting of ways with acting, it eventually did teach me that the only life worth living, is one where you find something you love, and put your heart and soul into it.
Last week while I was at my parents' house, I picked up the local magazine. To my surprise, a fellow actor from my Governor's School summer was featured in an article. She had gone on with acting, and has since starred in several Broadway shows. I couldn't believe it -- one of "our own" had made it. She had pursued her dream and was now a highly respected actor in New York. When I looked at the photographs from her shows, I could tell how fully in love she still is with acting. I could tell that the blood, sweat and tears she poured into the theater, came back to her ten-fold.
I'm so thankful for the people I shared the stage with at Governor's School, and for the small but pivotal role they played in my life twenty years ago. They taught me that it was OK to walk away from something I love, in order to find the thing that I can't live without. They helped set me on the journey to make me what I am today -- a writer.
This fall, I'm going to New York City for the weekend, and I hope to catch my friend in the starring role of her latest Broadway play. I can't wait to see how far she's come. And at the end of the show, I'll likely clap my hands until my palms hurt.
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