Void Dragon

Shakespeare was supposed to be boring. The complicated language, historical references, and dramatic script format struck fear in the hearts of my 8th-grade class. However, when my teacher asked me to read Tybalt’s lines before my classmates, I saw a stage appear behind me. The visualization skills I developed from reading books as a child conjured Italian cobblestone streets before me as Tybalt, no, as I drew Tybalt’s sword from his cloaked side. I lifted my voice and made faces; by the time I finished, the class looked baffled.

The “quiet kid” had found a voice.

When I first listened to the Hamilton Soundtrack, the stage again rose from my mind’s depths. I saw stunning costumes, moving lights changing colors, a complex, movable set, and the cast singing and dancing to complete the spectacle. I accumulated a library of musicals, enthralled with the singing and visuals that I conjured in my head. Then, I thought, to myself “I’m going to learn acting.”

However, in sophomore year, I realized that spectacle and illusion extend beyond the body and onto the stage. What I visualized extended to the setting and actions of the other people. So, I did all I could to assist with the theater’s technical side, designing Almost Maine costumes and constructing sets for Chicago and Radium Girls. I learned to balance my vivid imagination with the materials available, becoming more resourceful. Unfortunately, I faced disapproval for this interest, which hindered my theatrical participation and growth. Despite this, I continued to design and create my art. Technical theater allowed me to contribute to a cause and inspire emotion in others. Theater was the pinnacle of all art forms, combining dance, acting, and music with painting, sketching, sculpture, and architecture. I directed the wood I sawed and painted to act as a house, the lights to dance to the rhythm of the drums. It was powerful.

The COVID-19 pandemic also prevented me from attending school in person or volunteering for stagecraft-related activities. But my love for the stage never died. On the contrary, I fueled it whenever the soundtracks of Hadestown, SIX, and In The Heights played through my headphones or when I read Hamlet, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Much Ado About Nothing over Zoom.
So, in my last school musical, I crept into the theater with pink and green paint and made bougainvilleas bloom on the white walls of the Mamma Mia set.