What Theatre Means To Me Essay Example

I love performing, and I have been performing ever since I was little. First I would perform for my family in the comfort of my own home but soon I wanted to get up on stage, so I joined a Russian theater group. The thrill of going up on that stage and putting on a show for the people I love encouraged me to keep going, and I have been a part of my Russian theater group for 8 years now.

This gave me the opportunity to shine especially when I was cast in lead roles. My favorite lead role to perform was in a show called Двенадцать Месяцев, which translates to “Twelve Months,” a winter holiday story about good and evil. I enjoyed the challenge of playing the rude, stubborn and bossy princess because this character is so different from me. I took a lot of pride in this performance because it required me to memorize nearly 30 pages of lines in Russian. By telling the story of the princess’s transformation from cruel to caring, I learned about the power of empathy.

Being a part of my Russian theater group has brought me closer to my culture and background. While not putting on a big show we learned many Russian poems. My Grandma, who spent most of her life in the Soviet Union, memorized many of the same Russian poems in her childhood and remembers them to this day. I felt connected to her and my heritage when we recited poems together. 

After improving my acting skills, I was inspired to branch out and try musicals because I also enjoy singing and dancing. My school was putting on a production of High School Musical and I decided to audition. Acting, singing, and dancing at the same time was new to me so I was nervous, but I realized that there was nothing to fear. This time I was cast as a “thespian,” which was a more relatable character than the princess. I even got a singing solo, but that was the challenging part. My character was supposed to be a pitchy singer, so I had to work with the singing coach to learn how to sing out of tune.