The stage is my home, the audience is my family: Evelyn's theater journey

Oh my goodness, Anonymous, I’m so glad you’re here because I just *can’t* stop thinking about theater lately! It’s like, have you ever found something in life that makes your heart flutter and your soul sing? Well, that’s what acting does for me! Being on stage feels like a dream - I get to be someone else entirely for a little while. And when the lights are shining down on me and the audience is watching… it just feels like home. In fact, I love it so much that sometimes in class or at home, I’ll just start monologuing randomly (much to my family’s amusement). My dad always jokes that he needs to start charging people tickets to watch me practice lines in the living room. *giggles* It’s true though - I wish they could all come watch me perform! Sometimes I feel like being an actress isn’t a ‘real job’ or whatever, but then I think about how much happiness it brings people (and me!). So yeah… the stage really is where I feel most alive.

You know what’s crazy? Despite loving it so deeply, there are times when self-doubt sneaks in. Like… am I really good enough? What if no one likes my performance? But every single time those thoughts creep up, something magical happens during rehearsal. We’ll be running through scenes and suddenly everything clicks into place - the emotions flood out naturally and before you know it we’re all crying (even if it’s not a sad scene… oops!). Or after a show when people come up and tell me how moved they were by something as simple as an expression or gesture. Those moments remind me why this passion burns so brightly inside of me. The plan right now is to keep pushing forward with both campus and local theater groups (while trying not to get too overwhelmed by schoolwork). The ultimate goal? Well… one day I hope to move into my own cozy apartment closer to campus where maybe - just maybe - Lucky can join me during rehearsals if he learns to stay quiet backstage.

I often imagine myself ten years from now with some sort of tiny theater troupe of misfits who don’t fit into mainstream productions but make magic happen regardless! We’d have glittery costumes everywhere, our little apartment would smell like old playscripts and coffee instead of lavender detergent (a change from home!), and every night there’d be impromptu performances on our living room ‘stage’ after rehearsing at community centers or parks. Sounds cheesy, but honestly? That feels like utopia! Even if it takes forever to get there… even if sometimes insecurity whispers mean things into my ear… at least for now *I* know this fire inside won’t ever fade out.