Well, I did it. On Sunday I walked across the stage and was announced as an FRSA, a Fellow of Rosebud School of the Arts. The culmination of the last four years of learning, growing, and yes playing. There is a part of me that questions the significance of a ceremony, or for that matter a document, that celebrates the end of a person’s education. Hmmm, that makes it sound a bit like a funeral… not what I was going for, though in a way accurate. My time as a student in Rosebud is over, c’est fini! And I think I’m grieving it a little. I’m still here in Rosebud, and watching the students on their way to acting, movement, voice, and fight classes I can’t help but want to be going with them. It’s like I’m a ghost.
More about that later, back to graduating. It is quite an accomplishment, and I’m proud of it, though also a bit exhausted. It has been a very full four years getting to this point, and I’ve had my share of struggles, but also of successes. I am graduated. Graduate. Let’s take a closer look at that word. Most people know its meaning “To be granted an academic degree or diploma” but another definition reads “To change gradually or by degrees”, or yet another “To advance to a new level of skill, achievement, or activity“. Hmmm, well that is a bit different. I do believe I have changed, often a little too gradually for my liking. I have learned just as much, if not more, about myself over the years, as I have about theatre. And even then I wish for more growth on both counts.
And as for the last definition, it implies moving forward, the next step, as it were. So what is my next step?
- It may not seem like much of a step staying in Rosebud, but while I’m here I’m working, saving up for my Europe Adventure.
- I’m taking a class in Calgary, an aerial acrobatics class. I’m having a blast!
- Tracking down auditions, sending applications, and putting myself out there. I recently applied for an audition I was really excited about. Unfortunately, nothing came of it, but c’est la vie! At least I tried. There will be plenty more opportunities.
- Lastly I want to make a few trips home to visit friends and family. I miss them.
Well that is my plan till Christmas, when I’ll move back to Edmonton, after that it is a mystery. Likely more audition hunting, and circus training…it’s so much fun. There are some shows I’m interested in seeing, coming up in the next year both in Edmonton and Calgary, so I’ll have to make time to see those. And I’ll definitely have to start putting more effort into earning “crazy auntie” points.
Faerie Heart Art 