So I don't often put really personal posts on here and I don't know if anyone will take the time to read this but I just felt like putting this out there.
Usually my blog is just stuff I find funny or entertaining and occasionally, amusing things that happen in my personal life, but I wanted to dedicate this post to a man who has really changed my life and probably doesn't understand just how much he has done for me.
This man has been my acting professor since freshman year of college. This is my third semester with him since i had a different teacher last semester (unfortunately) but we stayed in touch and he still gave me advice when I needed it. Since I was in junior high, I knew i wanted to be an actress and I once thought the main joy I took away from this craft was the knowledge that I entertained someone. But my acting professor, Doug Tompos has completely changed my view of acting for the better. He's helped me find the joy in what we do not just for others, but for ourselves. The idea of living another life truthfully and getting to see from a whole other point of view is a truly amazing experience. Having the characters' lives that you play feel as real as your own is extremely rewarding. I don't think i've truly gotten to that level yet but I'm headed there and I get better every day.
Doug sees acting and art in an extremely unique way. Every class with him, I leave inspired. I know this is what I want to spend my life doing. I've had a lot of doubts in myself about whether this was the right path for me but he makes me believe that I really can have a career in this crazy acting business. He makes all of his students believe that they are capable of it because he brings the best out of each and every one one of us. Writing all this out is bringing me to tears because I really do feel so lucky and grateful that I get to learn from such an inspiring and talented person.
He is a professor who truly cares about his students professionally and personally. He knows when you're having a bad day and will always take the time to ask how you are doing and talk about whatever is on your mind. Things that he has told us in class have helped me immensely in my personal life as well as my professional career as an actor. I live life with a brighter outlook. I have the ability to make myself happy and get myself out of a slump when i used to wallow in my pain. I hear his voice say that I have the power over my own mind and that I can make my own happiness, that happiness is a choice.
Acting is so much more rewarding for me now. I get more joy out of my craft and I no longer search for gratification because I know whether what I did was truthful or not and nothing anyone else tells me matters. I'm my own bullshit meter as he likes to say.
All this came up and I felt like writing this all out because he came to see my show tonight and it meant so much to have the man I consider to be my mentor come up and say congratulations after my first show that I got cast in since I've been in college. At the end of this semester, I hope to tell him how much he's turned my life around although I don't think he'll truly understand but I'd like to let him know that he has had a huge impact on my life.
I will forever be grateful for my acting professor, Doug Tompos, for teaching me so much about the art of acting and about life. For any of you acting students out there, if you are ever given the chance to take a class from this man, I suggest you jump at the opportunity. I've seen his work on stage and I was blown away. I have grown so much as an actress and as a person from being in his classes and getting advice from him for the past 2 years. You better believe that if I ever win any kind of award, he will be the one I dedicate it to.
Thank you, Doug Tompos, my mentor, for inspiring me and for changing my life for the better. Thank you for giving your whole heart to your students and for really caring about all of us. You are one of the most gentle and compassionate people I have ever met and you are truly one of a kind.
This is my mentor and I wish everyone could meet him and have the chance to be inspired by him.
Thanks to anyone who reads this whole thing. "Like" if you want. It'd be nice to know some people put up with my occasional rants. This man means a lot to me and I just felt like sharing.
