Thrills, Chills, and Hills – Starting Something New
Patrick G. McGee
There is always the thrill of starting something new.
Sometimes, it is starting a new hobby, trying a new recipe for a dinner party
or even taking a new route home from work.
Starting something new always seems to bring a breath of fresh air to my
daily routines and starting my first semester in this program is no
exception. As a teaching artist, I love
the first day of classes or rehearsal.
There is always a great sense of excitement from both the young artists
and myself.
The past few weeks have been nothing but exciting and
definitely thrilling. I am slowly
discovering the balance of finding my voice as an artist as well as developing
my own teaching style. The rainstorm of
new terms like scaffolding, TYA, process vs. product, and devising theater have
sparked my interests as a student in so many ways.
I am thrilled to be in class with so many teachers and
teaching artists with such varied backgrounds.
I am both humbled and inspired by my classmates’ discussions and feel
myself growing both as an artist and student in these past few weeks. Both the
discussions about the combination of
innovative technology and cutting edge theater for young audiences and being exposed to productions like The Old Man and The Old Moon at The New
Victory have a struck a new chord in my artistry. Also, I was fortunate enough to take Devising
Theatre over the summer and that class really allowed me to find the importance
of my own artistry as a teaching artist but more importantly understand that we
are all creating something together. I
was really struck by our discussions about community that were sparked by the
devised theater pieces. Ultimately, I
think as both teachers and artists it is this idea of building a community or
ensemble that is extremely important both inside and out of the classroom. I am excited to find my place in this
graduate program ensemble over the next few years.
With any new experience, there are also so many anxieties. For me if I am not a little bit nervous
starting something, the passion must be missing. Well needless to say those chills were there
the first day of class. With so many new
people and new experiences, how would I fit in?
Also it has been some years since I have been in the world of academia,
and I was a little worried that I would not be able to keep up. Needless to say, the work load is a little
intense, and the drama in education paper still makes my stomach churn but all
these things combined remind me of my passion to be a better teaching artist.
Passion is what drives and fuels my every day
existence. It is why I get up every day
with such vigor, and with that passion comes many, many hills to conquer. I think our lives are series of hills that we
are constantly trying to climb. We have
moments of glory when we reach the top and look down at what we accomplished. Maybe
it is that lesson you thought could not be pulled off or that production of The Little Mermaid that you have to
direct with 18 other directors.
Regardless of the hill you are currently climbing, the reward is in the
journey. I am excited to start climbing this new hill and
start my journey towards my Master’s Degree.
Bring on all those thrills, chills, and hills!
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