This semester has certainly been eventful: applying to college, five AP classes, unconquerable stress, etc. And, in addition to the most blogging I have ever attempted, this has also been my most theatre-filled semester thus far at GBN. This, of course, has made blogging about performance somewhat easier, but it has also made it more enlightening. Performance has not just helped my blogging; blogging has helped my performance.
I began the year excited to blog, and, though the initial excitement has waned, I can honestly say that I have learned a lot about myself through this blog. Much to my surprise, I have found it somewhat difficult to blog. Having been accustomed to essay-style paragraphing for so long, taking a more informal approach to writing has been more difficult than expected. That being said, I have noticed more voice in my writing as a result of this blog. Words no longer feel as forced, and the writing process is now easier and faster.
With college essays rampant, the renewed presence of voice in my writing could not have come at a better time. Interestingly enough, I wrote several college essays over the summer in a vain attempt to ease my first semester workload. At the time, I (stupidly) thought they were phenomenal. I actually considered showing them to my parents as examples of how much my writing had improved! Thankfully I forgot about them for some time, and I suppose I have procrastination to thank.
In mid-October, with application deadlines only weeks away, I decided to look back at my summer essays to check for grammatical errors. In a fit of sheer panic, I realized how pathetic the essays truly were. I actually wrote this blog post in my anger, trying to shift the blame from myself to the college process. I should clarify: the essays were by no means awful. They were polished, organized, and informative; however, they were also bland, cliché, and scripted. The voice was non-existent. Thankfully I never had to submit the essays, though I strongly considered starting from scratch.
My college essay-writing capabilities have actually increased two-fold as a result of blogging, through voice as well as self-discovery. At the beginning of the year, my English teacher pointed out that blogging should exist in the magical space in between school and home, wherein writing is both substantive and meaningful. I believe that my blog has accomplished this very well, bringing what I've learned in class and applying it to performance—my true passion. For example, my post "Metamorphoses and the Role of Myth" connected my AP Psych class, Joseph Campbell, and Greek mythology to the play I was involved in, Metamorphoses. Similarly, "It's All Just a Game of Thrones" somehow found a balance between life in Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible and my favorite animated TV show, "The Legend of Korra." Discovering relationships between different aspects of my life has helped me sort through and condense my complex interests, which has in turn greatly improved my college essays. I now have a firmer understanding of myself and my interests, and I have blogging to thank.
As this post should prove, blogging is not meaningless or irrelevant: it is a means of self-discovery. The title of my blog is "Discovering Theatre," and, after four months of blogging, I can't think of a more accurate title. I have discovered theatre in places that I would never expect, from AP Psych (see "Erecting Facades") to Azar Nafisi (see "Reading Korra in Tehran"), but, more importantly, I have improved my performance as well. As I mentioned in "Metamorphoses and the Role of Myth," discussing a playwright's intentions and a show's themes in rehearsal is a common tactic used to improve acting. It helps make the acting more genuine and emotional, telling a story instead of reciting one. My blogging has done just that, and I now truly feel like I am telling a story on stage.
Despite these strengths, my blogging still has a ways to go until I will be satisfied. Some of my posts (like "Museums are the Absolute Truth!") still feel academic and forced. I hope to learn from one of my classmates, Charlie Kelly, whose blog about feminism is deeply related to her own life, mixing school and home perfectly. I will continue to try and make my writing more like Charlie's—fluid and genuine—just as I hope to improve my performance. And, in reference to my first post, "Feel free to join me for the ride!"
