In addition to performing and directing, I also worked behind the scenes as a stage manager and house manager. Having such demanding majors had me running from one rehearsal to another, singing in an opera chorus one semester and then directing Arms and the Man the next.
I will say that the satisfaction of graduating with a double major in degrees that I am sure some of my peers thought I would never obtain was awesome. I could see that the track for Speech Education would not challenge me as much as Performance Studies and another major in Music and that I needed to follow a path that challenged me. I didn’t have the high dose of talent I saw in my classmates, I didn’t have a lengthy resume, and I didn’t have opportunities handed to me but I wasn’t looking for an easy experience. This choice wasn’t without my own doubts and anxieties, but even when my teachers would tell me I “could” do it I ultimately knew I “needed” to do it. My peers, teachers, and often complete strangers were there to see my best moments and my worst.ĭuring my sophomore year, even after many failed auditions and call-backs, I changed my major to a double major in Performance Studies and Music. That’s the thing about the highs and lows of theatre, most often it is in front of an audience. Obviously, everyone in the campus theatre world wanted to be in this show! Some experience was earned through successes, and some experience was earned by embarrassing myself in moments like at that callback. Why I was unprepared to read that scene alongside faculty members giving their 110% I don’t know. Why I didn’t read the play before I showed up, to this day I don’t know. There were two things I was unprepared for, the character I was reading for, and the other people on stage reading with me. I had communicated to the director that my time was limited as I had to rush over to my own rehearsals (for Little Women) and she called me up to read for the first scene.
#Pensacola little theatre classes series
It was for a Fine Arts series production with an esteemed director on campus, and I arrived unprepared but confident. I remember my first callback for a Shakespeare production very vividly. I kept auditioning throughout college, and as you can imagine some went better than others. I landed my first role as Hannah, the housekeeper for the March family in Little Women, so proud to be in my first college production.Īs much as I stressed about my five lines, I did enjoy making a host of new friends and memories in that production. My first audition was for the productions put on by upperclassmen enrolled in the Dramatic Productions class. As soon as I set foot on campus, I was marking down audition dates and deciding what to perform. I entered college determined to pursue Speech Education with a second teaching field in Music at Pensacola Christian College and flew down to Pensacola for my grand adventure. While waiting for my chance on the stage, I continued to be inspired by local productions of, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, Hansel and Gretel, and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. I want so much more than they’ve got planned… I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, I want it more than I can tell And for once it might be grand. I felt like Belle’s voice was echoing in my heart as she sang: While I already loved musicals and knew I had an interest in theatre, attending that live production of Beauty and the Beast confirmed for me that I was going to pursue theatre, in some way, as a career.
I might as well have been on the front row, as I forgot any of my previous concerns and was fascinated by the intricate moving sets, the skill of the performers, and the amazing musical numbers. To my surprise, when the performance started, I was dazzled by the production and on the edge of my seat wondering if Belle could truly love a beast. As we found our seats in the very last row, I nervously situated my puffy winter jacket around me and tried to get comfortable in my seat, wondering how well I would be able to see the stage. It was a frigid night as I, the 5th wheel of this date, walked with our group into the arena. It was February 14th, 2013 – Valentine’s Day in Sault Ste.
We’re very happy to have Bethany Elswick working with us this summer! Please, learn a little about this talented young woman and we hope that you stop by to meet her!
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