Theatre, and how it influenced me(memoir)

Emily Griffith
Theatre and why it matters
2 min readDec 14, 2018

I’ve always had a big imagination, ever since I was a little kid. I would use it to come up with stories, play with toys, or just outside with my friends. I never really thought that it would come in to play when I got older. I can still come up with characters in my head and make fictional stories about them, so I thought maybe it could only be relevant in English.

I started taking theatre classes last year and just really wanted to try something new. Who knew it would be the best decision I ever made. I finally felt like I could be myself and I still feel like that in this department. I love expressing my creativity in the form of a character, I like giving them backstories even if I’m not acting as them.

People don’t understand “drama nerds”. They think we’re weird, even though that is 100% true, we are some of the most accepting people out there. I love being apart of this wonderful form of art. I never knew how much I would love it.

I like being able to take classes on theatre also, last year we got to actually write a script and even though I love writing stories and making up characters I was too ashamed to even put any creative thought into it. I hadn’t come out of my shell yet, but now I feel like I can be who I want. On my first even block day of school last year, I went into the drama room and they had been working on Greek tragedies for the past couple of weeks. I was this terrified 14 year old who had just been forced to leave my cushy town and school to move in with my aunt and uncle in this big town and huge school. You could only imagine how scared I was, but when I stepped foot in there I knew I would love this department. Everyone was so welcoming and I finally could just act.

I discovered who I was through all of this process, I auditioned for my first play last year. I didn’t get an acting role but thank God I got a job on props. I met some of the best people ever. Literally all my friend and I did was sit in the shop we have downstairs and watch movies until we had to do our jobs. People started to actually like me once we did that show and I could be the loud obnoxious person I really am. Surprisingly I fit right in, people like my jokes and my personality, one of the things I pretended was different for so many years of my life. Theatre is the best thing in my life and I wouldn’t change it for anything.

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