1 Year Down... WOW

Ok, so I realised that I actually haven’t blogged in a very long time, which makes me a blog fail, but I thought I would redeem myself with a few things that I have learnt and experienced this year about myself and WAAPA.

As I have already stated in my last blogs, this place is tough and definitely not for the faint hearted. If you’re looking to go here to be told that you’re great and that you’re perfect, look elsewhere. Now, initially, this criticism and brutal honesty is like a huge dagger being plunged into your brain and chest and makes you wonder why you’re actually here in the first place; but it isn’t until you reach the end of the year, get your report, and hear and see the improvement of everybody in your year, including yourself that you realise, hey, they’re actually not at all out there to get me, they're out there to push me and realise my own potential… and can I just say, what a nice feeling that actually is.

First year has been an amazing experience. This year the first-years were given the privilege of being the ensemble in the final 3rd-year show of Ragtime and wow, what an experience that was. Not only was it amazing to be sharing the stage with some of professional theatre’s most talented, up and coming performers, but it really gave me the taste of what I am hoping to be in for in the future. I had the pleasure of working with one of the most inspirational and talented people that I have ever met in my life, Sydney based director and performer Jason Langley, which was an experience within itself. To watch someone impart such contagious passion onto a cast was truly amazing. It was an experience that I will never forget, and WOW what a show that is. If you don’t know it other than hearing "Daddy’s Son" as every second girl's audition song, then give it a chance, because you will fall in love with it, I guarantee it!

Something that I really learnt this year by being away, however, was how much my life has been affected by and shaped by the theatre community that we have in Melbourne. Our little amateur world has not only provided me with some of the most amazing friends anyone in the world could ask for, but it has also provided myself and so many others with, passion, dedication, knowledge and experience. We have so many fantastic resources in the amateur world who really know what they are talking about, and it makes me proud that our amateur circle is so professional in so many ways. One of the hardest parts about first year, however, was saying goodbye to the 3rd-years who have, over the year, become our family. The talent that came out of WAAPA last year was extraordinary, with many of them already being signed up to upcoming major musical and play projects merely three months out. You watch these amazing men and women perform and you realise what hard work, dedication and a good kick up the bum can really do for you. They are phenomenal and I’m sure that you will all get to witness each and every one in their brilliance at some stage in their imminent careers.

Heading back now has brought mixed emotions. I have loved being back home with my friends and family and I will never get used to leaving them, however I am also counting down the days to go back to my Perth family and get stuck into what I already know is going to be a very difficult year of study. The pressure is on, and the expectations are higher, but the passion and the drive have also increased so all in all, it is shaping up to be a good year ahead.

I’m probably blabbering on now but I think that the biggest thing that I have realised this year is that, though performance can get really really difficult and at times a be a major struggle and seem fruitless, if you want it bad enough, you should take that criticism as positive instead of negative, set yourself goals, put in 150% in everything you do, and you are going to end up wherever you want to go in the future. Next time you see a show, pick out your favourite person and decide what they have that you want, if they can sing like no one else you’ve ever heard, go get some singing lessons, if they can dance like a mofo, then go and do dance classes… Opportunities won’t just fall into you’re lap, but if you want them badly enough and you work for them hard enough, they’re yours. That’s how I see it anyway.

Happy New Year guys, Hope you all have a great 2011 season… update you soon Diana ☺