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I just sent this copy of my Personal Essay to Ms. Poole. Tell me what you think...
Personal Essay
When I was chosen specifically out of the Chaminade Drama Company of more than one hundred actors to work on a small black box production, I had no idea that I was embarking on a life-changing, eye-opening journey or that my performance would reach out to so many people. My work on “A Perfect Ganesh” by Terrence McNally not only made a lasting impression on my life and my heart, but it also gave me the opportunity to heighten my acting skills, create an intense connection with over two hundred people, and devote an entire summer to the critical examination of a beautiful piece of performing art.
I was asked to participate in the play by Paula LaBrot, the drama teacher and theater director of the Chaminade Players. In the Spring of my Junior year, Paula approached me out of the blue and asked me if I would want to be one of the leads in this small, black box production she would be directing over the summer. She had already chosen the other actors, three Seniors whom I barely knew, even though I had been working with them in the Chaminade theater program for two years. I was apprehensive about accepting the responsibilities of learning lines and rehearsing four times a week during what was supposed to be my summer vacation. But I reminded myself that this would be the first production of its kind to ever be presented to the Chaminade Community, and Paula asserted that it would be the most dynamic and memorable piece to ever hit the Chaminade stage. How could I possibly reject this once in a lifetime opportunity, especially since it would be my first lead role in a Chaminade production? I accepted the part, along with the responsibilities, and we began rehearsal in the beginning of June.
After the first few rehearsals, the other actors and myself soon realized that this play was intense and thought provoking. Touching on issues such as the importance of self-forgiveness, self-acceptance, and faith, “A Perfect Ganesh” is a play that is distinctly different from the regular fare of high school drama programs. I played the part of Margaret Civil, whose name does seem to be an accident when considering her controlling personality and annoying desire to be politically correct at all times. On a journey to India with her best friend Katherine Brynne, Margaret is forced to reflect on the death of her young son, her secret breast cancer, and her cheating husband through the vigilant and nurturing force of Ganesh, a popular Hindu God. One of the most intense moments in the play is when Margaret gives a chilling and emotional account of how her son was hit by a car on a busy city street. She explains that she was trying to wipe his face when he ran away from her controlling hands and into the street where he was “under the wheels of a car before [she] could save him.” There were many other intense and profound moments such as this that brought members of the audience to tears, or at least gave them goose bumps.
The cast of the play consisted of four characters: Margaret Civil, Katherine Brynne, Ganesh, and The Man, a protean who plays a different part in each scene. Carrie, Ishan, and Kevin were the three other actors chosen to devote their summer to rehearsal and I can safely that because of the intimate rehearsals at Paula’s house and the intense level of the material we were working with, we became very close friends. During rehearsal, our job was to memorize our lines and develop an understanding of our character’s emotions in each scene. Memorizing the lines was fairly easy, even though we all had easily over two hundred lines each, including monologues. It was daunting task of analyzing our character’s words and then putting action to the words that made the whole process mentally and physically exhausting. The next step was to understand our roles more completely and to gain a more comprehensive and thorough idea of our character’s background and motivations. Only then could we learn how to interact with each other’s characters on stage. My job was to learn how to sympathize with a mother four times my age whose adult life had been tarnished by heartbreaking misfortunes and tragedies. I had to feel comfortable telling her story and I had to have a sharp understanding of her character so that I could make every interaction with the other characters on stage believable.
By the time we were ready to perform our work of art in front of an audience, I felt that my confidence about my role the play was a sign that all of our hard work over the summer had paid off. As we took our final bows, the audience was moved to a thundering standing ovation and I noticed that most of the faces in the audience were streaked with tears. After the show, I was lauded for my inspiring and indelible performance, which I attribute to Paula and the rest of the cast. I am honored to have been part of such a dynamic group of people because although we were small in number, we were able to stir the emotions of an audience of more than two hundred individuals and challenge them to reevaluate their lives. We still feel accomplished when we reminisce about our summer of doubt and unrelenting hard work and then exclaim to each other, “We actually did it!”
Other than that, nothing exciting in my life right now. Revising my Junior Resume and filling out the activities portion of my application. Hope you all are having a good day...
Personal Essay
When I was chosen specifically out of the Chaminade Drama Company of more than one hundred actors to work on a small black box production, I had no idea that I was embarking on a life-changing, eye-opening journey or that my performance would reach out to so many people. My work on “A Perfect Ganesh” by Terrence McNally not only made a lasting impression on my life and my heart, but it also gave me the opportunity to heighten my acting skills, create an intense connection with over two hundred people, and devote an entire summer to the critical examination of a beautiful piece of performing art.
I was asked to participate in the play by Paula LaBrot, the drama teacher and theater director of the Chaminade Players. In the Spring of my Junior year, Paula approached me out of the blue and asked me if I would want to be one of the leads in this small, black box production she would be directing over the summer. She had already chosen the other actors, three Seniors whom I barely knew, even though I had been working with them in the Chaminade theater program for two years. I was apprehensive about accepting the responsibilities of learning lines and rehearsing four times a week during what was supposed to be my summer vacation. But I reminded myself that this would be the first production of its kind to ever be presented to the Chaminade Community, and Paula asserted that it would be the most dynamic and memorable piece to ever hit the Chaminade stage. How could I possibly reject this once in a lifetime opportunity, especially since it would be my first lead role in a Chaminade production? I accepted the part, along with the responsibilities, and we began rehearsal in the beginning of June.
After the first few rehearsals, the other actors and myself soon realized that this play was intense and thought provoking. Touching on issues such as the importance of self-forgiveness, self-acceptance, and faith, “A Perfect Ganesh” is a play that is distinctly different from the regular fare of high school drama programs. I played the part of Margaret Civil, whose name does seem to be an accident when considering her controlling personality and annoying desire to be politically correct at all times. On a journey to India with her best friend Katherine Brynne, Margaret is forced to reflect on the death of her young son, her secret breast cancer, and her cheating husband through the vigilant and nurturing force of Ganesh, a popular Hindu God. One of the most intense moments in the play is when Margaret gives a chilling and emotional account of how her son was hit by a car on a busy city street. She explains that she was trying to wipe his face when he ran away from her controlling hands and into the street where he was “under the wheels of a car before [she] could save him.” There were many other intense and profound moments such as this that brought members of the audience to tears, or at least gave them goose bumps.
The cast of the play consisted of four characters: Margaret Civil, Katherine Brynne, Ganesh, and The Man, a protean who plays a different part in each scene. Carrie, Ishan, and Kevin were the three other actors chosen to devote their summer to rehearsal and I can safely that because of the intimate rehearsals at Paula’s house and the intense level of the material we were working with, we became very close friends. During rehearsal, our job was to memorize our lines and develop an understanding of our character’s emotions in each scene. Memorizing the lines was fairly easy, even though we all had easily over two hundred lines each, including monologues. It was daunting task of analyzing our character’s words and then putting action to the words that made the whole process mentally and physically exhausting. The next step was to understand our roles more completely and to gain a more comprehensive and thorough idea of our character’s background and motivations. Only then could we learn how to interact with each other’s characters on stage. My job was to learn how to sympathize with a mother four times my age whose adult life had been tarnished by heartbreaking misfortunes and tragedies. I had to feel comfortable telling her story and I had to have a sharp understanding of her character so that I could make every interaction with the other characters on stage believable.
By the time we were ready to perform our work of art in front of an audience, I felt that my confidence about my role the play was a sign that all of our hard work over the summer had paid off. As we took our final bows, the audience was moved to a thundering standing ovation and I noticed that most of the faces in the audience were streaked with tears. After the show, I was lauded for my inspiring and indelible performance, which I attribute to Paula and the rest of the cast. I am honored to have been part of such a dynamic group of people because although we were small in number, we were able to stir the emotions of an audience of more than two hundred individuals and challenge them to reevaluate their lives. We still feel accomplished when we reminisce about our summer of doubt and unrelenting hard work and then exclaim to each other, “We actually did it!”
Other than that, nothing exciting in my life right now. Revising my Junior Resume and filling out the activities portion of my application. Hope you all are having a good day...