A quixotic picture

Summer is here! It feels like the night before college, frantically packing suitcases and penning a My CENTRE Life entry, was so long ago. Indeed, it's hard to believe that only a year has passed. The experiences that I've accumulated over the past eight months are immeasurably valuable, and I feel as if I'm a different person from that bookish, obsessive-compulsive guy who was prone to breaking out into song. (Okay, so maybe I'm not that different). Still, having passed this benchmark in my life, I'm enjoying summer knowing that I have successfully completed my first year of college.  

Despite the fact that this is my holiday, I'm working seven days a week. I mentioned in an earlier entry that I'm an intern with New Harmony Theatre Company; it's possibly the most gratifying job I've ever had. Every day I go to work and am surrounded by wonderfully creative people who are all striving to make our summer season a success. With company members like Ken Jennings (the original Tobias from Sweeney Todd) and designers like Tijana Bjelajac (currently mounting Broadway's Spiderman: The Musical), it's impossible to not learn valuable lessons--not only regarding how theatres outside of a community and collegiate setting function, but also how to better myself as a stage performer and technical artist.

I'm also blessed with the wonderful opportunity to act in New Harmony's second-stage series, called the Unlimited Players. It's a new venture for the company, and the players aim to present theatre in new, inventive ways. My first performance with the group will be later this month as Medvedenko in Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.

When I'm not at the theatre, I work at the oral surgery group's office, performing what is known as the "hazel" shift. I prepare and sterilize surgical trays while occasionally providing basic surgical assistance. It's true that I have no burning desire to enter the medical field, but the job pays well, my co-workers are energetic people, and I enjoy that I get to help impact other's lives (even if in a minimal, unseen way).

This summer has taught me to appreciate and take joy in things I've often taken for granted. Someone had to focus the lights that were lit when I would take my entrance on stage; I know now that it's long, tedious work. Someone else stood at the copier, making and sorting scripts that I received as a member of various acting companies; it's a monotonous job, but an essential one to the artistic process. Across town, a different person is performing daily rituals that allow my doctors appointments to run smoothly; I take pride in the fact that my work helps other people stay on time and regain precious minutes for other things. Am I over embellishing things, painting a quixotic picture of sometimes mundane jobs? Perhaps. I like to think, however, that everyone has to start somewhere--and it's usually the bottom. Continuously learning, I can only move up.

Thank you, dear readers, for following my journey throughout my freshman year here at Centre College. It's truly been a pleasure getting to share my experiences with you, and I hope that you have enjoyed reading (and seeing) my entries. So where do I go from here? From Danville, Kentucky to London, England, my sophomore year will certainly be an exciting and challenging adventure, and I wish I could take you along for the journey. I feel confident that good things are coming; everyday I wake up, excited to see what life has in store for me. As Trigorin says in The Seagull, "If you ever have need of my life, come and take it." Seriously, look me up if you are on campus—you know where to find me!