Having the chance to be in an improv show has done a lot for my confidence as an actor. I was previously put off by improv due to my prejudices against thinking comedically on my feet for an audience; however, once I started practicing improv games, that all changed. I found out that improv was not something to be feared. It was an opportunity to be creative. There were many times during the show when I made a mistake or failed to be overly comedic, but my classmates picked me up, and the audience enjoyed the show. This greatly helped my ability not only to perform improv games but also to think on my feet in general.

Getting cast as Jack Scott, the morning announcer for East High, helped me realize how much depth a character could have. I had to balance being a “nerdy” high school junior with having the ability to speak smoothly on the mic. I couldn’t play into a stereotypical nerd because that wouldn’t fit my character. I had to find a way to flesh out my feelings and connect with what my character stood for. This cemented the realization that even a character from a Disney musical could have so much beneath the surface. This was also the first show where I felt confident dancing. Despite it being a dance-heavy musical, I kept trying to study the choreography and learn my moves exactly. Even though my timing was sometimes off, I still remembered my moves.

This was my favorite play I had done at this point in my career. We worked with a playwright to produce a brand new play. There were a total of two major revisions that were made to the script as we were working on it. We, as a group, struggled with learning lines at the start of the rehearsal process. This made it stressful and added some tension. I had to step up and learn my lines exactly so that I could deal with slightly off cues. This helped me realize that I should have fully memorized my lines early on. I also felt that I portrayed Track, my character, the best out of all the characters I’ve played. There wasn’t any background to go off of for him, so I had to make up his backstory and find out why he said each line. The last week of the show, everything clicked, and I finally could stop being stressed and enjoy the show for what it was.

Night Among the Stars is a cabaret that acts like a banquet for our theatre program. I was involved in three different songs. One was a spoof of the song “Zero to Hero” from the movie Hercules, another was “Grease Got a Hold” from the musical The Outsiders, and the final one was a performance of “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent. Zero to Hero was my favorite because it involved me portraying Hercules and reacting to a group of people swarming me. I also flipped one of the girls during the song. My struggle with this song was keeping people engaged with my facial expressions and blocking while also performing the flip in a safe manner. Grease Got a Hold was also challenging because I had to learn the choreography in a short span of time. Seasons of Love was a bittersweet way to end the night because it involved all the students in the advanced theatre class, as well as some alumni.