AS LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, THE STAGE HAS BEEN MY SECOND HOME. Whether I was performing in a talent show, dance recital, or choral concert, I took advantage of every opportunity. The summer before high school, I performed in my first musical theater performance, Rogers and Hammerstein's "State Fair." I was hooked! Through dance, song, and text, I was able to find a medium that encompassed everything I loved about performing.
As high school progressed, I performed in various school and community shows, attended neighboring towns' school performances, listened nonstop to show tune soundtracks, and saw every regional and Broadway show that passed through town. I soon became a "musical theater junkie," and I was proud of it. But I wondered where this would take me. When it came time to apply for college, I felt I needed to find a more practical focus en route to secondary education. I decided to attend Middlebury College in Vermont as a biology major, looking forward to a career as a zoo habitat designer. I figured the liberal arts focus at Middlebury would still allow me to participate in theater, a cappella singing, and competitive swimming.
The biology idea lasted for only half of a semester. I realized my heart belonged on stage. Throughout college, acting classes and opportunities to perform in student and faculty directed productions opened me up to new discoveries in theater, resulting in both great memories and hardships. This past January, I was cast as one of the lead roles in a contemporary musical, and was the choreographer. This was indeed one of the more challenging, yet rewarding, experiences on stage that I have had to date. Soon after I was cast, I discovered that we only had 18 days to put a song-and-dance-heavy show together. While I was rehearsing for the show, I was also serving as the co-captain of the varsity swim team and attending an intensive education class. Most days, I was going nonstop without breaks. Within the first three days of rehearsal, I had already taught three dances to the company, blocked out the first half of Act One—and then, I lost my voice. I was terrified. Two years prior to this production, I had lost my voice during the rehearsals of a similar musical. I scraped by in the performances as best as I could. Now here it was—my senior year—and with the biggest and most challenging role I'd had to date, both vocally and mentally. I was petrified that my voice wouldn't be able to stick it out for this amazing opportunity.
