From singing Phantom of the Opera in the shower to pretending to be Mimi Marquez swinging from the wooden bars and ladder of my bunk bed belting melodies from my favorite show, Rent. My mother implanted theatre into my heart since the beginning. But I was always missing just one aspect of the magic I knew, performing. I yearned to hear the patter of my feet on the stage, for my voice to echo throughout a theater during a rehearsal, to transform into a different person and tell their story. But when I was younger I guess it just wasn't my time yet. My family didn’t really have the money to enroll me in any sort of performing arts program and our town lacked a theatre program in schools until high school. Performing in the comforts of my own bedroom would have to do until I got to high school. Once I got to high school I eagerly auditioned for the 2 shows they produced a year, desperate to finally be on a stage. Yet, there was something missing from the experience, I wasn’t aware of it at the time and it wasn’t until my friend Kevin pulled me aside during one of our rehearsals and informed me about the pre professional theatre company he was apart of. Soon enough I convinced my mother to sign me up for theatre camp at Gaslamp Academy of Performing Arts. Essentially it’s where I found myself as a performer and as a person. Before the program I hadn’t ever taken risks or made choices on stage as a character and as myself in life. If I was ever in a place with the opportunity to meet new people I wouldn’t take advantage of it, usually I’d wait until people came up to talk to me because I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to people. My confidence was at an all time low before Gaslamp, I didn't believe that I could accomplish anything. However, spending 8 hours a day for a month with a group of accepting, loving, intellectual, inspiring people changed me and I learned so much about myself that I
From singing Phantom of the Opera in the shower to pretending to be Mimi Marquez swinging from the wooden bars and ladder of my bunk bed belting melodies from my favorite show, Rent. My mother implanted theatre into my heart since the beginning. But I was always missing just one aspect of the magic I knew, performing. I yearned to hear the patter of my feet on the stage, for my voice to echo throughout a theater during a rehearsal, to transform into a different person and tell their story. But when I was younger I guess it just wasn't my time yet. My family didn’t really have the money to enroll me in any sort of performing arts program and our town lacked a theatre program in schools until high school. Performing in the comforts of my own bedroom would have to do until I got to high school. Once I got to high school I eagerly auditioned for the 2 shows they produced a year, desperate to finally be on a stage. Yet, there was something missing from the experience, I wasn’t aware of it at the time and it wasn’t until my friend Kevin pulled me aside during one of our rehearsals and informed me about the pre professional theatre company he was apart of. Soon enough I convinced my mother to sign me up for theatre camp at Gaslamp Academy of Performing Arts. Essentially it’s where I found myself as a performer and as a person. Before the program I hadn’t ever taken risks or made choices on stage as a character and as myself in life. If I was ever in a place with the opportunity to meet new people I wouldn’t take advantage of it, usually I’d wait until people came up to talk to me because I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to people. My confidence was at an all time low before Gaslamp, I didn't believe that I could accomplish anything. However, spending 8 hours a day for a month with a group of accepting, loving, intellectual, inspiring people changed me and I learned so much about myself that I