Preparing for my portfolio/semester review
(which is in like an hour 😰)
What have I done, what have I learned, what can I do, what do I want to do?
What have I done this semester?
A lot. First time things-- working the fly for Godspell (and going to ACTF and seeing/experiencing the kind of effort and teamwork/collaboration that goes into something like that); stage managing (a Growing Stage show), which had its own interesting challenges: firstly, the general work of a stage manager, which I had observed but never done, and secondly, communicating and working with people who have differing opinions (and still managing to put out a good show, especially in such a short time period); doing props for the musical, something I learned deserves the dedication of time and communication.
What have I learned?
That nothing comes without doing. The only way to learn the tools of this very particular trade is by doing. I’ve also learned that there is an interconnectedness to things, and to do one thing well, you need to have a working knowledge of the many parts. I’m beginning to expand that knowledge.
What can I do?
At the moment, very little, which is something that, admittedly, has been holding me back. It’s been the (perhaps unknowing) efforts of my teachers and mentors to instill the idea of nobody is born with this knowledge in me. So, what can I do? It all, once I learn it.
What do I want to do?
In the long term, I want to stage manage. In the here-and-now, yes, I want to work towards being a stage manager, but I also want to find out what else I might possibly have an interest in, talents and skills I didn’t know I had, comfort and confidence. I want to put effort in, because I want to do this, and I want to do it well.