Almost every night I play a fourteen year old pothead, but last week I got to play a different part! Thursday, I got to be a teacher! Me and my buddy Paul, who's a very talented actor himself, headed to a performing arts high school in Seattle and taught a Master Class.
Being a teacher is something I have always wanted to do, so when I got the opportunity, I jumped on it! Theatre is my favorite thing in the whole world, so what could be better than sharing my enthusiasm for the stage with other students! It wasn't too long ago that I was a student myself. In fact, I feel like I still have a lot to learn and am constantly soaking up what I can from the older, experienced actors I'm traveling and working with. But it sure is nice to feel as though I might be able to take some of what I know from my own audition and performance experiences and pass it onto others.
Just seeing the high school students file in for the hour class got my heart beating faster. I couldn't tell if i was scared (My real high school experience left me a little self conscience and paranoid of gossipy high school kids! Eeeek!)..., or if I was just super excited! I quickly realized my quickening pulse was from excitement! Today I'm the teacher, not a student!! And I'm not just teaching regular high school students, I'm talking with super talented theatre loving high school students!!
I started remembering what it was like when I was in school and we had some guest actor come into class. It was always fun to hear someone new talk of their professional acting experiences!
These high school students were super cool and nice and so polite! I only saw one boy nodding off during some of my tangents, so I thought that was pretty dang good for my first day of teaching! Some students even thanked me after, and one boy gave me his card!! (High school students have cards? Maybe I should get some....)
Probably the best part about the playing teacher for the day, or for an hour really, was that it inspired my performance that night! After all, I play a kid just starting high school! I couldn't wait to warm-up my voice and do all the other things I had talked to the students about doing to have a good performance.
Maybe sometime I'll get to play teacher in another city!!
Comments