And the Scholarship Goes To...

Each year EYT awards a tuition scholarship based on the submission of an essay.  This year's scholarship goes to:

Melina Wrathall

I hope she won't mind too much that I've decided to share her essay here on the blog.  It is very well written and really describes what EYT is all about.  Thanks and congratulations, Melina!

The Show Must Go On

by Melina Wrathall

        Last year I was involved in Beauty and the Beast and it was an amazing experience, even though there were some costume malfunctions. It is amazing what you can learn, when in a production, even if it is not what you expect. For example, last year during one of the performances I entered onto the stage and unknowingly presented the audience with a different kind of show. The front of my dress was completely tucked up into my tights, and I was on the stage for 5 minutes before I realized what was going on. I glanced into the audience and wondered why my mother was unsuccessfully trying to conceal her obvious laughter. Later she informed me that she could ether cry or laugh; she chose the latter. Even though I was embarrassed at the time, and would not have chosen this situation, it was still a good learning experience. It provided me with a funny story to tell others, and make them laugh. I also learned that as long as you try your best, making mistakes is okay. In fact, it is quite entertaining to laugh at yourself. There are many mishaps that happen in theater that relate to life. The show must go on. Some unexpected adventures will occur in life, but you still have to keep on going because life does not have an intermission. 

        When in a production there are many lessons we can learn. A very crucial lesson one discovers in theater and life, is that when the unexpected happens, improvise! There are limitless unpredictable possibilities that can happen around us. Using improvisation fills in the awkward space when problems present themselves. Whatever obstacles happen, make the audience believe that it was meant to happen. For example, when I was playing Annie in the radio scene, I never imagined that the fake fight behind me would result in a real broken nose. All the actors were improvising as they slyly cleaned blood off of the floor. Another example is if you break your toe on stage and still keep the biggest smile on your face that the audience has ever seen. Backstage there is excruciating pain. On stage there is a perfectly happy character. I am a witness of these experiences.

        It is a good skill to learn how to deal with disappointment and success. In situations such as auditioning for a specific role to portray, or interviewing for a job it is quite useful to have this skill. A rule in theater is to audition and forget about it. Somehow it is absolutely impossible for me to comprehend how people do it. I try to forget about it, but not for the life of me can I succeed. How many times in life has someone attained something that you wanted? When this happens, contention and competitiveness can build up and stir inside of people. The best thing to do is to be a friend to everyone and to be happy for other people’s successes as well as your own. Be prepared emotionally for any results, good or bad.

       I was fortunate to be a part of EYT’s Beauty and the Beast last summer. It was a great experience filled with adventure, fun and friends. I was very pleased to find that the lessons I learned last year applied to my everyday life as well, whether the lessons I learned applied at home with family or at school with friends. This year I expect to have more experiences that can help me and relate to my life. I learned so much while in the production Beauty and the Beast, and I hope to learn much more this year as we go for a new adventure in Wonderland.