I've been having a really hard time conveying my love of acting and how I get to be a different person in this essay, especially with a conclusion. I have an essay under it that I wrote for Cal Lutheran University. I didn't really want to use it, but if you feel that it's more appropriate than the first, PLEASE let me know! Any feedback is appreciated! =]
Prompt:
Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud, and how does it relate to the person you are?
Behind the curtain, I am a bubbly, energetic, worrisome seventeen year-old teenager, who strives to perfect the imperfections of my everyday life. Behind the curtain, my nerves get the best of me: my heartbeat accelerates and palms sweat as I listen intently for my cue. Once I walk onstage, I have been reborn into a new character with different motives than my own. The overhead lights, audience, and impending dialogue transform me into a completely different person. Nevertheless, there is still a small sense of me that lives in this new person.
Ever since eighth grade, I have fallen madly in love with acting. One of the many things I love about acting is how it gives you the ability to change into a completely different person than you are in everyday life. In my high school performances, I have become an elf disguised as a little girl, a woman uninterested in a man trying to flirt with her, a "tomboy" clown/sidekick of a whiny hypochondriac prince, and a young teenager growing up in her simple town. Though each role is different, I have able to find something similar in myself and each character I have played, either a personality trait or experience that the character is going through.
Acting is more than just reading some lines in a script. It involves talent, dedication, analyzing, and a bit of imagination. Whenever I am onstage, every action, word, and thought is solely dedicated to my character and enhancing the experience of the audience. Through acting, I can cast all worries off to the side, and relieve myself of any stresses.
Although the reward of a performance well done is usually felt by an audience cheering and applauding, this is not only the joy I feel when I act. By playing a character in any play, I am able to make a playwright's literary work come to life and be appreciated by an audience. Instead of just reading the play, the audience experiences it the way that it was meant to: through a live performance. I also feel proud of my work as an actress when I can touch someone on a personal level. Through acting, all sides of you are shown, and you become vulnerable as you analyze your character. By expressing different sides of me through my character, not only do I face emotions that I would like to remain hidden, members of the audience are touched on an emotional level as well. They feel what my character is feeling -happiness, sadness, anger, vulnerability -and can relate to a time where they felt the same way my character does. Being able to feed off their emotions and touch an audience member emotionally gives me the thrill to act again.
Acting has become as second nature to me as breathing: without it, I cannot survive. I have become addicted to the rush of nervousness and excitement you feel onstage as you play a new character, as well as the joy felt after a performance well done. Acting is something that I will carry on with me through my college career due to my passion and dedication for the stage. It is my own personal escape from the stresses of life, even if only for just a brief amount of time.
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Alternate Essay:
One loses many laughs by not laughing at oneself"- Sara Jeannette Duncan.
Although this may be perceived as a fairly easy action, truly being comfortable with one's self to the point where you can laugh at any mistake you make is probably the most difficult attribute any human being may learn. Throughout my life, I have had personal struggles, where I had to learn to let go and laugh at myself. It was through my love of acting where I was able to conquer my problem head on, and learn that the best solution was to let go and laugh.
One of my most memorable moments as an actress involves playing a character outside of the norm: a "tomboy" clown/sidekick of a whiny hypochondriac prince. In the play entitled The Love of Three Oranges, one problem came about: my character, Truffaldino, was not intended to be played by a woman: this eccentric clown was actually written for a man! However, this hindrance was blown off by the director, where he claimed that Truffaldino did not have to be a man, but rather "he" could have actually been a girl dressed up as a guy. He also pointed out how Shakespearean actors were all men, even those roles that were written as women, and that I would never have another opportunity to play such a fun role. Therefore, this problem was resolved as quickly as it came.
As rehearsals were conducted and junior year school activities came into play, it was difficult for me to relax and let go. At the time, I was stressed out with so many activities: juggling two difficult subjects, AP English and Physics, homework, play practice, and junior class presidency. It was at this time in my life where I felt so overwhelmed that I didn't know how to even start relaxing. Fortunately, as I grew in my character as Truffaldino, it gave me the chance to relax, slow down, and enjoy the funny things that life throws our way.
Not only did my role as Truffaldino allow me to relax from everyday stresses, it also allowed me to not take life so seriously and laugh every once in awhile. By nature, I tend to be a perfectionist, so when I tried to be Truffaldino, it was hard for me to make everything "just right". This truly came about when my character Truffaldino was required to make the prince laugh by "serenading" him with the song "We Will Rock You" by Queen. As I tried to sing the song perfectly, my stage fright reached an all time high, where it was no longer fun to play the clown. At this point, I realized that although there are times to be perfect, this play taught me that it's better to let go, laugh at myself, and have fun.
No matter how difficult, one can endure anything with laughter. Laughter is truly the best medicine: it picks us up when we are down and lifts us up from even the worst moods. Through laughing at myself, I found that I was able to enjoy myself much more than I would have if I remained serious. My role in this comedy taught me to embrace my funny side, laugh at the fun times in life, and help me to grow as a person: not only in a comedic standpoint, but also as a whole.
