Ryan Papa

Hi, my name is Ryan Papa, and I am a “theater kid.” According to society, a "theater kid" is someone who has been involved in theater for a long time and has openly displayed a passion for the arts. For me to explain this any further, let me take you back to the first time I got introduced to the immersive art of theater. It was second grade, and I was getting ready to head to football practice when my mother came in and told me that she had signed me up for this “thing called theater.” I was very confused why she would do that because, for the majority of my life, it was always football, football, football. When she told me that it would be good for me and my “big” personality, I was enraged at the idea because I don't even know what a “big” personality means, but I agreed to just try it out for her. With my enraged self, I walked into the theater with a closed mind, not thinking anything of it, but as I walked in, I was in awe of the stage and the beautiful scenery in sight. My whole perception changed in an instant. As I encountered each person, I began straying more and more away from an enraged attitude to a relieved one because I saw my “big” personality in each one of them. At that moment, I finally understood what my mother was trying to get me to discover in life. Each year after that and many musicals later, I gained this lasting passion for the arts. Instead of just watching and performing musicals just for the heck of it, I started gaining insight into them and was able to find the underlying meaning that each piece of performance was portrayed. My favorite part of theater is that each performance brings a new and exciting story that draws the audience into it and causes the audience to only think about it for the next two hours of it. Theater has truly become an important part of my life, not just because of all the friends and knowledge I have gained along the way, but also because it taught me that it's OK to express your true personality, because if you mask your “big” personality, you won't be able to find your true authentic self.