Choosing the Arts is NOT the Easy Option

This post sort of came about from my last post, coming from the idea that people need to give theatre and the arts a chance. Throughout my life, people have said to me that doing drama is stupid, and it's the easy way out if you don't want to work hard and do something 'academic'. If I had a £1 for every time someone has said that to me, or something similar to that... Well, let's just say, I could have got through University without needing to budget. Yet, every time someone has said it to me, I found myself laughing and saying 'Alright. You think what you want.' It's only recently, throughout my time at University, that I've started to ask why. Why do people think it's an easy option? Why do people think that drama students are stupid? Why do people think that a qualification in the arts is any less than a qualification in Science, Maths, or History?

When I told someone once about what my course entailed, they ignored everything I said about working every single day, sometimes 12 hours a day in busy periods, coming home and having research tasks to do by the next day, learning lines, remembering blocking etc. The one thing that always stands out is 'no written exams.' People always misunderstand this, and think that we are lucky. Your typical degree will have lectures, coursework handed in as a dissertation, and a final examination (obviously not the exact format, but this is an example). So this means, that your grade is reflected on the work you put in outside of class alone, writing your coursework and preparing for your exams. In my BA Acting degree, I was assessed every day. Every. Single. Day. We work in small groups so it's easy for our lecturers and directors to see who is pulling their weight, and who is slacking. They feed back to the moderator and tell them how we do in rehearsals, which is reflected in our grade. And because of the nature of our course, you can't take a day off whenever you like. I mean, you technically can, but it would be detrimental. You miss one day, you miss (approx.) 6 hours of rehearsals, which is pretty damn hard to catch up on. There isn't going to be a PowerPoint. You really learn the importance of team work, and you can't let your team down. You are a vital cog which keeps the process ticking over smoothly. People don't want to spend the next day's rehearsal repeating everything from the day before, because you couldn't be bothered to show up.

I missed one 3 hour lecture of improvising and devising in first year because I physically couldn't move out of bed. That's the only lecture/rehearsal I missed in my 3 years of university. You had to show up if you wanted to learn. You learn through exploration, and if you're not present to do that, what are you going to learn? If you're having a bad day, leave it at the door. You can't sulk in the corner, you have to give it your all no matter how bad you're feeling. One persons bad vibe can bring down the entire class, and it affects your productivity. This is something that you don't tend to get with any other degree. I've been there, I've had bad days. However, as soon as I let it affect me in class, that's where I started letting people down, and that's not ok.

Through studying Acting, I have learnt more about politics, and current world affairs than I ever did in school. I truly understood the importance of it, rather than just be given a text book and told to memorise it for the exam. From researching plays, to how other people have lived, though a lot of them are fictional characters, they are based on real people, and real things. Through this I learnt empathy. Empathy is something that not all people have, and I think everyone should have. Studying the arts has definitely made me a more empathetic person. When you work so closely with people, you learn things about people's views, their beliefs - something you wouldn't necessarily know if they were just in your class of 300 in a lecture hall... you may not even speak to them. I have made friends from all over the world during my time at Trinity which opens up great discussions about how things are done in their country, or even a certain part of the UK. To be honest, before coming to University, I didn't really have any political views. I was very unaware of how things worked, and that's down to me not putting in the time and research I needed to do to understand it. During my second year, I worked with an amazing director, who shone light on the importance of having our say, and doing our own research. Since then, I've tried to be as active as I can politically, keeping up to date with everything that is going on in this world, and most importantly, I vote!

The people I have met are also so diverse, not only in terms of politically and where they're from, but who they are as a person. I have met people who are transgender, non-binary, LGBTQIA, you name it. Some of these terms I have never had never heard of before, and talking with people openly about who they are, and what defines them or doesn't define them as a person was eye-opening. So maybe I would have learnt about all this in life eventually, but I believe studying my degree was the best choice I could have made. It made me feel more connected with people, and I've said it before, and I'll say it again... I've made friends for life.

People have also said to me... what's the point? You just prance about on stage for a bit, learn a few lines. Surely that's not a degree? No. That's not the degree. If that's what you think drama is, you are wrong. So very wrong. How anyone can be that closed minded, and not see how much hard work goes into what we do, is beyond me. People have said 'Drama is stupid!' - well, alright. If you think it's so stupid and you don't appreciate it... Do me a favour, and how about you never watch your favourite Netflix programme, the next big blockbuster at the cinema... because I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the people involved in those projects live and breathe the arts. Not just the actors you see on screen, but every single person behind the scenes who work tirelessly to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

I have heard many discussions where people have had nothing but bad things to say about University in general, and I'm not just speaking about drama any more. Personally, I believe that everyone should experience University if there's something you're passionate about, or you want to expand your horizons/knowledge.

And yes. University/College isn't essential, but education is.

"I'm a BAGEL, on a plate full of Onion Rolls."

I've decided to do something a little different for this blog post...

For anyone who knows me, they know that I see a lot of theatre, mainly musical theatre, but I do go and see plays as often as I can, too. After every show, people always ask me, "Was it good?" and "Did you enjoy?", and the answer is always "DUH!"... and then I proceed to tell them every fantastic thing about it, giving them chapter and verse of why they need to see it too or why I need to see it again. After all, you can't just see a show once, can you?

Anyway, this month, I went to see Funny Girl for a second time, this time, with the one and only Sheridan Smith. I went to see Funny Girl last year, but we saw Sheridan's understudy Natasha Barnes. I mean, obviously she was fantastic, her name says it all, really. Seriously though, she was amazing, she's now the lead for the second half of the tour, I believe! Even though we had booked expecting Sheridan Smith, as soon as the show began, all our disappointment flew out the window. Barnes gave a phenomenal performance and I was completely blown away. Never under-estimate the understudy, because DAMN. They are talented! Of course they are! They wouldn't give just anyone that role.

However, since seeing Sheridan in Legally Blonde a few years before, I was dying to see her in Funny Girl because I think she's just wonderful... I mean, seriously, is there anything that she can't do? I've been a fan of her since her role in Gavin and Stacey, and she's always been one of my favourite actresses. So let's just say I was a tad excited to finally see her in the Wales Millennium Centre... so much so, that I started talking with a complete stranger in our row about how amazing Sheridan was and how she wouldn't be disappointed by the show, and to be prepared to be blown away. Then we started chatting about musicals in general and all the one's we had seen, and it was too much for my tiny little mind. I was going to explode. So I rambled on until the lights went down, and then I almost cried at the overture. Then I did. I was an emotional mess. Musicals just have this way of getting you to feel everything down to your very core. I cried a lot during the show, the cast was flawless, the songs were flawless, the dances were flawless. My face at the end... not so flawless. That finale had me in BITS. I was sobbing from the last song, and all the way through the bows, and even when the lights came up. My new friend I made before the show started? The stranger? Laughing at me with my mother. But I didn't care. My heart was happy and broken at the same time. Being truly moved by a show like that, is something that I will never tire of. Oh, to live and breathe theatre is one hell of an adventure. An emotional adventure.

And for people who tell me that they don't like theatre, I shall refer you to one of musical theatre's greatest lessons from Fanny Brice - "I'm a bagel, on a plate full of onion rolls." The point is that (loosely quoting) if all you ever had for breakfast was onion rolls, then in walks a bagel... you'd be like 'Err, what is that?!'... Until you TRIED it. And that's what people need to do. Give theatre and the arts a chance. There's so much you can learn about yourself, and the world through the arts. Truly, you're missing out if you just eat onion rolls for the rest of your life. Bagels are delicious.

Spontaneity is the BEST kind of adventure.

Well, I've just come back from a lovely little break in Spain after only booking it a week in advance. After spending months looking for holidays and things getting delayed, avoiding booking things, money getting in the way and time running away from us... I didn't think I'd get the chance to go away at all this year and it was driving me insane. So basically, I went on a load of last minute holiday websites and I said to my friend, who also had the same travel itch as I did,

'I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going. Are you coming with me?'

And of course, the answer was 'Yes. YES. YES!'. Within a couple of hours of looking, we found a brilliant deal and just booked it. Nothing planned, just 4 nights in Spain near Barcelona. Finally. going somewhere new, creating new memories and getting a well deserved break after finishing University this year. It was so exciting to book something and only have a 7 day countdown. We started trying to plan things to do in the short amount of time we were there but we just decided to plan to be spontaneous, as contradicting as that sounds. Obviously we knew that on one of the days, we wanted to go into central Barcelona as we were staying about an hour away from there. But other than that, we had no idea what we were going to do, knew nothing about the area we were staying in, but just turned up and just explored, and discovered the nicest little places in this Spanish town. When we first arrived, our thoughts were 'dingy, washed up, tourist destination that people have forgotten about' but that wasn't the case at all. We found where it was all happening and when we were sat out for dinner and sangria dining al fresco, we happened to be front row to some kind of 'drum-off' fiesta! There were groups of drummers doing their little routines, passing by us, and just making us feel really happy about our decision to come to this holiday destination.

Now, this may have been because of the Sangria... but either way, we had an amazing time. We then just sat on the beach and watched the sun go down, and it was just lovely sitting there, finding the prettiest stones and shells. It's moments like those I enjoy the most. That whole day was so completely unplanned, it started off with swimming in the hotel pool, sunbathing, eating lunch at the hotel bar, sunbathing and swimming some more, then a stroll around new parts of the place we were staying in, finding the cutest little restaurant and accidentally stumbling across the fiesta, then the sunset on the beach. It was just wonderful.

              The best times in life are usually random, unplanned and completely spontaneous.

I could go on and talk about how many memories we made, and all of the new culture we experienced, but I'm afraid it would take way too long. Travel is something that every single person should experience. When was the last time you did something for the first time? That's something that travelling can offer you. Every single day, you can try something new, whether it's food that originated from that particular country, an original landmark that you won't see anywhere else, or even just a sunset over a beach you've never walked across...

"Travelling's not something you're good at. It's something you should do. Like breathing." 

- Gayle Foreman

The Tassel Was Worth The Hassle!

I'm officially a graduate! I have a BA (Hons) in Acting. 

The three years of blood, sweat and tears have come to an end. To get through those years though, I've had some amazing people by my side who have made the hard times more bearable, and far more enjoyable. Without these amazing people in my life, I wouldn't be where I am today. I am not going to name everyone individually because there are so many people who have had such a positive impact on my university experience and this post could go on forever, and nobody wants that.

It was a very emotional time and I managed to hold myself together throughout the whole day and throughout the ball. It was when I was packing up for the final time, giving in my final key, pulling my suitcase across the beautiful campus, saying "See You Later" because I can't be dealing with "Goodbye's", then leaving campus... I was not OK. My extreme tiredness and the heat didn't help with my emotional state. But again, I held it together, got on my train with my friend and began the journey home. When the train pulled off, my heart dropped as I realised that I no longer needed to come back to Carmarthen. Then I made a big mistake. I opened a card I received from one of my best friends who wrote this beautiful heart felt letter, and all of a sudden it felt like one massive goodbye, not to each other, (because that's never gonna happen let's face it), but to one massive chapter in our lives that has changed everything. As a person, I have grown and found out a lot about myself during my time at University. This is something that I may not have done if I hadn't gone to University, as well as the fact that I would never have met some of the people who I now consider to be my best friends.

I didn't manage to get pictures with all of us looking all super fancy, but you know who you are, you wonderful humans. Thank you for making my time here so much fun and you mean the world to me. So please, please, please, keep in touch because I'm already missing you all like mad and can't wait for the next time that I get to see you. As Winnie The Pooh said; "How wonderful is it to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
                           

                                      

          

As well as the wonderful people that I have met along the way though-out these three years at UWTSD, I can't go without thanking my amazing family and my best friends who have been there through thick and thin. A lot of the time without even knowing it, their support and unconditional love has helped mold the person that I have become. You guys are the best and I'm so thankful. From letting me rant about things that have gone on in Uni, talking about people that you don't have a clue who they are, supporting my productions, from the encouragement I get leading up to and during that stressful time, whether you come and see the end production, it didn't matter to me because I knew you had my back and you were proud of me no matter what. 

So thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
What you have done for me means more than you'll ever know. If i ever forget to tell you how much you all mean to me, just know that I care so deeply, it's often hard to express. It's crazy to think that there are so many people who have influenced my life and who have changed it for the better. I can't imagine you not all being a part of my life. There is one very important person that is missing from these pictures though, someone who I wish was still present in my life, and that's my Dad. It's on big events like these where I miss him the most, and having people telling me how proud he would have been does warm my heart but it makes me miss him even more. I wish I could hear him say it because it would mean the world to me. In a way, he was there, because I carry him wherever I go in my heart. Not only this, I wore my special Cariad locket with a picture of him inside. He will be with me wherever my life journey decides to take me. Always close to my heart.

                   

                    I love you all. So Much.
                                                                                                  

This post has already got way soppier and reflective than I thought it would be, so I'm going to sign off on a bit more of a positive note. To the rest of our lives, may it be blessed with endless joy and wonderful, cherished memories that you will take with you forever. I know that these three years will be the start of a lot of amazing stories that I share with people throughout my life. It's been an unforgettable experience. To us!