Student Life

The Adventure

by rakel bryant

Adventures begin where your comfort zone ends. I recently performed in a student-written and directed play, "In the Woods Somewhere.” This play was directed by Elayna Goodwin and written by McKayla Gates. Now, here's why that is an "adventure" for me: I normally watch plays; I never thought of being an actor performing in one. I'm pretty shy and nervous, so this was out of my comfort zone. So, how does someone like me end up in a play?

The story begins with a friend of mine needing another person to help audition with her since the improvisation/audition prompts called for two people. The person she originally was going to audition with could no longer go, so she asked me. I admit, I tried getting out of it with a "maybe," even though in my head, I said, "no.” However, my friend was desperate and wouldn't let me off so easily. Before I knew it, I agreed to audition with her that night.

Once again, I tried to get out of any chance of being in a play. There was a section on a form we had to fill out that described our former acting experience to help see if we were fit to be cast. I wrote down one simple word: "None.” During the audition, I gave everything I had to help my friend get a role. Later that week, I got an email saying I had been cast as Ms. Hare for "In the Woods Somewhere.” I accepted it, and I do not regret auditioning one bit!

While being in theater, I met new people, made new memories and friends, and had the best time performing! Was I nervous? Of course! But so was everyone else; I wasn't alone in feeling anxious. The comforting thing was that we were in it together. Our show had such an unexpectedly large turnout that we had to do two showings!

People don't know that the two showings back-to-back were up for the cast to decide. Once more, I tried to run away from the situation. I wanted to perform once, get it over with, and never have to worry about it again. I told this to some of the cast members in the dressing room before someone came around to get our vote. When the director went into the dressing room and asked if everyone was okay with two showings, my friends had all voted "yes.” I couldn't be the only one to say "no,” so I, too, had said "yes.”

Now, what is the point of me writing this? What's the takeaway here? My message is this: do not be afraid to be pushed out of your comfort zone. When that happens, it's God molding you into who He wants you to become. There's something else you have to learn in order to grow as a person.

Another thing is that when it comes to God and His plan, even you can't stop it. God also has a way of tying things together–I was writing a paper on Jonah while thinking of my article. In Jonah, he tried to run away three times from his calling from God, but each time, he failed. God literally forced him to Nineveh by being in the belly of a fish! 

Going back, I realize that I had tried to run and hide while being in theater a total of three times as well! My experience was different from Jonah's because I accepted that this was where God wanted me to be, and I no longer fought it. I performed to the best of my ability in the first and second showings, and a big smile never left my face. And so, when I was asked if I wanted to audition for the next play, I thought, Why not?