Hello all!
Many of the people I encounter often ask me what I would like to do when I grow up.
This question starts off as the fantasy of every child who drams of becoming a prince or a princess - however as the child grows older and starts approaching college applications, the dreams get more realistic (sadly).
This is not my. Since I was a little girl I have always wished to become one thing: a musical theater actress. This is a tough job, why? Because the theater world is competitive, because talent is hard to measure, because the theater world is dirty and full of empty promises and because in order to be a GOOD actor one has to work really really hard. Moreover, there are many who have the capacity of becoming good performers, but the chances are few and it is very selective.
As a dreamer I am sure of one thing: to me, it is NOT about the fame. Obviously I would love to end up sitting among the nominees for the Tony Awards someday; but that is not what would express my passion and make me feel satisfied about myself.
I want to do musical theater because performing is all that I need. I feel a sudden energy in my stomach when I walk on stage; I feel that sudden rush when I see the audience and I adore making people feel the story I am acting out. When I analyse a character, learn lines and rehearse the play, I leave Giorgia aside. My problems, my commitments, my enemies and my flaws do not exist. It almost feels like when I put on my costume and makeup, Giorgia ceases to exist and I escape into another world. Some people may misunderstand this and criticize me by thinking that I am trying to use my passion (theater) to avoid my real life: but this is not true. It isn't true because when I decide to leave myself off stage, I am also abandoning the positive sides of my life like my friends, my family, my hobbies and all the things that make me happy. Hence, I am giving up on the beautiful aspects of my life too during my performance, yet I enjoy it anyway.
Theater has helped me realize how far you can push yourself. As of now, at the age of sixteen, I am not experienced enough to call myself an actress. I believe that in order to call myself one, I first need to learn more stage techniques, concentration techniques and I need to feel the emotions of my character more. HOWEVER, currently I am working at impersonating Ms. Honey, from the musical Matilda for a production with my Drama School (to which I intend to dedicate a whole post very soon). I am so excited to work on her personality and learn from this experience. I literally could not wait for this opportunity to come.. Hence, I would like to restate that I have learned that you can never learn enough. I will really have to push myself into experiences and still have a lot of know of theater: but I really can't wait to expand my knowledge on it.
Now, why Musical Theater? Why not normal Theater? As I have already mentioned in my previous blog posts, I am very fond of dancing and singing: when I was small my favorite movie was Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, later Singing in the Rain and.. Well, yes, I even liked High School Musical (we all had that phase). Now I could watch Les Miserables a million times or watch My Fair Lady again and again. A story told trough music is so entertaining to me, dances and songs in my opinion make the tale magical and colorful but also convey the emotions felt by the characters better and more effectively. Musical Theater is more than acting, it's about drama.
I will blog more about theater because there is literally SO MUCH to say about it. It is almost like I could go on and on writing, but that would eventually become boring for you to read. To conclude this post I would like to say that theater has given me a lot and helped me reflect about life immensely. It has helped me make decisions, become more confident and aware of what I can do as a performer.It has also taught me how to balance my life out and keep some time to myself in order to enjoy my life, have fun and be free. Yes, I aspire to someday stand on the stage of a Broadway or West End show because the only sure thing about my future is that I will be on stage. To think about it, it doesn't even matter how big or how known the stage is: it could be a school stage while I am teaching, an orphanage stage where I am giving children a laugh or it could be a public park's stage while I am struggling to earn some money. Whatever it is, I do not want my passion and dream to turn into a job that only stresses me out and that turns my love for theater into a nightmare. If that happens, I will turn things around before it gets too late, I will work hard and put all of my effort into doing what I adore.
Below is my favorite Musical piece from Billy Elliot: Electricity.
By the way, I saw this live in London and I remember how I just wanted to get up and join this little guy on stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muBrh7Y5ZL0
To next Thursday!
Giorgia Valenti
Many of the people I encounter often ask me what I would like to do when I grow up.
This question starts off as the fantasy of every child who drams of becoming a prince or a princess - however as the child grows older and starts approaching college applications, the dreams get more realistic (sadly).
This is not my. Since I was a little girl I have always wished to become one thing: a musical theater actress. This is a tough job, why? Because the theater world is competitive, because talent is hard to measure, because the theater world is dirty and full of empty promises and because in order to be a GOOD actor one has to work really really hard. Moreover, there are many who have the capacity of becoming good performers, but the chances are few and it is very selective.
As a dreamer I am sure of one thing: to me, it is NOT about the fame. Obviously I would love to end up sitting among the nominees for the Tony Awards someday; but that is not what would express my passion and make me feel satisfied about myself.
I want to do musical theater because performing is all that I need. I feel a sudden energy in my stomach when I walk on stage; I feel that sudden rush when I see the audience and I adore making people feel the story I am acting out. When I analyse a character, learn lines and rehearse the play, I leave Giorgia aside. My problems, my commitments, my enemies and my flaws do not exist. It almost feels like when I put on my costume and makeup, Giorgia ceases to exist and I escape into another world. Some people may misunderstand this and criticize me by thinking that I am trying to use my passion (theater) to avoid my real life: but this is not true. It isn't true because when I decide to leave myself off stage, I am also abandoning the positive sides of my life like my friends, my family, my hobbies and all the things that make me happy. Hence, I am giving up on the beautiful aspects of my life too during my performance, yet I enjoy it anyway.
Theater has helped me realize how far you can push yourself. As of now, at the age of sixteen, I am not experienced enough to call myself an actress. I believe that in order to call myself one, I first need to learn more stage techniques, concentration techniques and I need to feel the emotions of my character more. HOWEVER, currently I am working at impersonating Ms. Honey, from the musical Matilda for a production with my Drama School (to which I intend to dedicate a whole post very soon). I am so excited to work on her personality and learn from this experience. I literally could not wait for this opportunity to come.. Hence, I would like to restate that I have learned that you can never learn enough. I will really have to push myself into experiences and still have a lot of know of theater: but I really can't wait to expand my knowledge on it.
Now, why Musical Theater? Why not normal Theater? As I have already mentioned in my previous blog posts, I am very fond of dancing and singing: when I was small my favorite movie was Billy Elliot, Mary Poppins, later Singing in the Rain and.. Well, yes, I even liked High School Musical (we all had that phase). Now I could watch Les Miserables a million times or watch My Fair Lady again and again. A story told trough music is so entertaining to me, dances and songs in my opinion make the tale magical and colorful but also convey the emotions felt by the characters better and more effectively. Musical Theater is more than acting, it's about drama.
I will blog more about theater because there is literally SO MUCH to say about it. It is almost like I could go on and on writing, but that would eventually become boring for you to read. To conclude this post I would like to say that theater has given me a lot and helped me reflect about life immensely. It has helped me make decisions, become more confident and aware of what I can do as a performer.It has also taught me how to balance my life out and keep some time to myself in order to enjoy my life, have fun and be free. Yes, I aspire to someday stand on the stage of a Broadway or West End show because the only sure thing about my future is that I will be on stage. To think about it, it doesn't even matter how big or how known the stage is: it could be a school stage while I am teaching, an orphanage stage where I am giving children a laugh or it could be a public park's stage while I am struggling to earn some money. Whatever it is, I do not want my passion and dream to turn into a job that only stresses me out and that turns my love for theater into a nightmare. If that happens, I will turn things around before it gets too late, I will work hard and put all of my effort into doing what I adore.
Below is my favorite Musical piece from Billy Elliot: Electricity.
By the way, I saw this live in London and I remember how I just wanted to get up and join this little guy on stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muBrh7Y5ZL0
To next Thursday!
Giorgia Valenti
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