Live Your Life

"Far away there in the sunshine are my brightest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead." - Louisa May Alcott


I hear on a daily basis how lucky I am to have found my passion so young in life. I've essentially known what I wanted to do with my life since I was 14. Though I didn't confirm this until 4 years later, I think deep down I always knew. This is what I'm meant to do with my life. Being a stage manager is a whirlwind of drama, hugs, office supplies, 20+ daily emails, hours of rehearsal, surprising breakthroughs, organizational overload, and tremendous pride. I've grown immensely in the past 2 years, mostly in part to my incredible mentor Linda. As I begin the conclusion of my first semester of junior year, the terrors and excitement of my future are starting to heavily weigh on my life. In a year and 6 months, I will be out on my own. Hopefully about to enter an excellent graduate school program but that has yet to be determined. And it's scary. For two years I've lived in the comfort of my home base, LeFevre Theatre. And I knew that no matter how challenging the problem or how overwhelming the rehearsal process, I would always be surrounded by my support system. I never felt like I was alone. Linda has been there every step of the way and, for the past year, so has Danielle. I knew that I would never be without guidance or advice if something got too challenging and I was never far away from someone telling me that I was doing a good job. My skills as a stage manager have almost reached the professional level and I know that once I graduate I will be more than prepared for my next adventure. Linda has fine tuned my skills to an expert's level. Whenever I question whether I'm doing something right, I hear her voice in my head telling me how to do my job. She has made me into the stage manager I am today and I cannot thank her enough for that. But I'm scared. I'm scared knowing that once I leave she won't be there to mediate if a director and I have a disagreement or reinforce that my decisions are correct. I will simply have to trust that she has taught me well enough to conquer the challenges my future holds. Theatre is full of challenges. Theatre is subjective. One person's point of view is rarely the same as another's. I hope to take away from her tutelage the ability to manage both sides of every story and be objective in every situation. I admire the skills she has developed for tackling each unique problem presented. She always has an answer. She always listens to both sides. And she is always supportive. It's very special to have a person like that working for your company. It will be hard knowing that I will not have her by my side once I leave but she'll always be with me. It would be impossible to go on without her. So although soon enough I will not be seeing her everyday, dropping in on her office, getting stage management lectures, and calling her when I absolutely cannot handle a situation, she'll still be there. And when the time comes to leave, I'll be ready.
So this is me saying, thank you Linda. For making me into the stage manager I am today, for being my mentor, and for being there for me every step of the way. I hope that I always make you proud.