This Time Last Year...

This time last year, I graduated from Year 12. It's insane that it has been a year. An entire year since our farewell assembly, followed by our grade spending the rest of the day in the park by the river and the euphoria and excitement of having finally finished, followed by graduation night where the tears flowed - rather, gushed like a torrential downpour - at the thought of leaving the people we had spent thirteen years of our lives with.

All that was a year ago. Now we're all at uni (or theatre school!) or TAFE or working, and the HSC is a distant memory. But today, as Facebook is flooded with this year's Yr 12's graduation statuses, all those feelings of a year ago are flooding back. Don't get me wrong, there's no way I would ever wish us back to the HSC, but I do miss it. I miss my school, my teachers and my grade. I miss seeing everyone every day and sharing life together. I miss the community. I've been so blessed with my group of friends, and we frequently catch up and make sure we see each other, like I always knew we would. We're too close to just stop seeing each other. But it's the people who are not in my tight knit group of friends who I don't see. I knew it would happen, but it is still weird that I haven't seen so many people in a year that I normally would have seen every day.

It is very weird not feeling like you own the school. I have visited the school to see teachers and students a couple of times over the past year, and it is the oddest feeling going from being the oldest grade in the school and knowing everything about it and feeling like you run the place, to being an outsider. You realise that the school grows and moves on without you. There are new buildings, new teachers and new students.

I must admit, though, I have always been welcomed warmly when I've visited the school. My teachers love to hear what I've been doing and how I'm going and - probably because I want to be an actor - a lot of the students and friends from lower years are really keen to catch up and there's a kind of novelty to being there. I visited just last week to talk to the Yr 12 Drama class about studying drama outside of school, and I walked into our school's cafe to be greeted by a girl screaming "You were on Puberty Blues, weren't you?! You're awesome!!" It was a very odd occurrence, one that I'll admit I liked, but it was made even more amusing by the fact that I've only done extras work so far. I can't wait to visit after I've actually played a role!

So over the past year, we've all grown up a lot, at least I know I have, we've moved on to different and exciting things, and we've forgotten there was ever a thing as horrid as the HSC. I guess what I'm worried about the most is moving further and further away from everyone. Especially for me pursuing acting - I have no idea where that could take me, but I know that I won't be staying in the same place surrounded by the people I've grown up with. And that's exciting, but terrifying. And we adapt. I hardly realise it's happening while it is, especially because I'm so passionate and excited about acting and determined to achieve a career in it, I have little time to think about anything else. It's just days like these that make me stop and think and realise that things aren't going to stay the same forever. And that has pros and cons. I just thank God for my friends because I know that no matter how far away we are, we'll never completely lose touch. And that's something that I think is rare - I know a lot of people who have completely lost touch with their school friends.

Well, hasn't today made me melancholy?! I'm going to the graduation tonight to support my friends in Yr 12, which will no doubt be the culmination of my reminiscing, and then I'll be back to the excitement that is theatre school and seeing where God  takes me over the next twelve months!

A Learning Experience...

Yes, it has been over 5 months since I last posted anything - and what an incredibly busy 5 months it has been!! Ontop of Sydney Theatre School and the two - almost three - productions I have performed in there, I have been involved in 4 student films (three lead roles and one supporting), a musical (Grease - playing the wonderfully dorky Eugene), extras work on numerous TV shows (mostly the new channel 10 drama Puberty Blues) and general, every day life. And I'm loving it.

I stumbled back across this blog today, after a session of learning my lines for my current STS production of As You Like It (I'm playing Touchstone and I love him - he's so witty and gets some of the best scenes!), and it got me back in the mood for documenting this incredibly long journey to my dream of acting.

Recently I had an audition for an upcoming ABC telemovie - my first audition for a role in a professional production. I was ridiculously excited, as one might expect. The movie is set in WW1 France, and so I spent the day before researching the heck out of Australia's involvement in France during WW1, had my lines learnt and was ready to go. I arrived at the casting director's studio about 15 minutes early - perfect! - and sat down in one of the three comfy couches they had in their waiting area. I was the only actor there. At 11:40, my audition time, Greg (the casting director) came in and said something that I missed entirely as I hurried to put my script that I'd been reading over back in my bag and stand up to shake his hand and make the best impression I could. He looked at me a little oddly and I flushed, realising he was waiting on a response to the thing he had said before. "I beg your pardon?" I asked, a tad breathless from embarrassment.
"How am I going for time?" he repeated.
"Oh, it's 11:40" I said after a quick glance to my watch.
"And your audition is at?"
"11:40" came my awkward response. "But I can wait for as long as I need to" I hurriedly replied, eager to show him I was easy going.
"Oh, no, I like to be on time - I like the word to get out that I stay on time."
I relaxed, sensing this incredibly awkward exchange was coming to a close. If only I'd listened to what he'd said when he first said it! "Oh, I'll definitely make sure to tell everyone how punctual you are!" I replied with a smile that, in my mind, was supposed to break the ice.
The audition went well, however I need to learn to not 'act' the scene, but play it for real. The first time I performed it as a perfectly rehearsed and prepared scene, which is not at all what they want. Greg told me that I had the perfect look and the right age range for the role, he just needed me to show him that I could be real. The second time I think I achieved this, or at least did a lot better. I walked away from the audition feeling confident and, perhaps more importantly, knowing that I had learned something.

I didn't get the role - the chances of getting a role on my first audition are ridiculously slim - but I definitely know that my next audition will be a lot better because of this learning experience. And on top of that I have been seen by another casting director, which is really what it's all about! Now on to my next audition!