How it all began

This morning I was thinking about how I got myself into theatre as a profession. Many people play around with it during high school. I went a little further than most being in a Musical Theatre Company outside of school. However, I had never thought that I would go on to do it as a career. I had dreamed that I would and was jealous of people that had gone on to do it, or were certain that they would make it. I had never been so sure. And in my Gr.12 year the director of the musical that I was a lead in told me, very straight forward, that "I would not make it as an actor but that I had the right personality and skill to be a stage manager and that I should give that a try." I walked away from that conversation hurt and didn't think much of the stage manager bit but of the insult.

Then Alexis and Aaron and I went away to England. No one thought that I would go through with it. I had many confessions upon my return of doubt in me following through with a trip of that magnitude. But it taught me that I can do scary things and succeed. I learned a lot about myself. And mostly that many people will tell you things are hard, or to difficult so don't bother trying. "Travel abroad, do you know how many tourists are killed everyday?" "It rains all the time in England" "Theatre, what are you going to do with a theatre degree?"

Then I had to go to school. And this is the part that I had forgotten. I had planned to get a Fine Arts Degree in General Theatre Studies and a Certificate in Admin - create my own Theatre Admin Degree. Three years in Theatre, transfer to Admin, and transfer back.

I think that plan petered out after one semester. In my second semester I was called upon to stage manager a show (which was unheard of for first years) and I guess I have not looked back since.

I wonder how different my life would be had I not made that leap into stage manager in that second semester and finished out a Theatre Admin degree?