To act in a play is to live in the moment. When acting on stage, you can’t pause and re-do a scene. You just have to go with the flow.

That is a big thing I have learned from acting on stage.

When I first arrived at The University of Illinois, I never thought I would be in a play. The very idea of standing on stage portraying a character never crossed my mind. I was not meant to be in theater.

And I never tried it for a number of reasons: First, our high school was so small and lacked the resources to afford to have a theater troupe. Second, even if we would have had a theater troupe, I would probably have thought it wasn’t that cool. 

That was the perception I had from a young age. 

I guess I always thought athletes were on top of the student social hierarchy, followed by the preppy kids and then the music and drama students were near the bottom. This was a very foolish perception on high school popularity that I have thankfully outgrown. 

And some of those assumptions probably arose out of my own experiences and activities before college, including my lack of exposure to theater.

My interests in high school included sports, video games, music and movies. When it came to those hobbies, I felt safe and sound. For example, I felt comfortable playing point guard and taking the basketball up the court. That is something I have done several times and was used to it.

But before college, my comfort zone never included acting. That just wasn’t part of who I was. 

The idea of acting on a stage overall is pretty scary to me. I would have to memorize my lines, say those lines loudly, wear costumes and have stage presence. Trying to portray another character seems like a very daunting task. 

Sometimes, it’s not even easy being yourself in certain situations (like on a first date). That’s a lot to keep in mind when acting in a play. But, as with most things in life, practice makes perfect.

But during my time being here, I have performed in three different plays. And it’s all thanks to one of my roommates from freshman year.

Jake Settanni, senior in LAS, saw a flyer for the play “You Can’t Take it with You,” and he wanted to audition for it. The auditions were held around the second week of our first fall semester here at the University. He told me I should go audition with him, but I was hesitant because I barely knew the guy and I never thought I was into theater. 

However, the audition flyers said, “No prior acting experience required.” So, I thought, what the hell, and decided to give it a shot.

I had no idea what to expect. I’ve never been to an audition before so I was a little nervous, mainly because I didn’t want to look like a fool to people that were probably judging the crap out of me.

Low and behold, we both received parts in the play. Jake was cast as one of the main male characters, and I was cast as G-Man 2. It was a minor role in comparison to his, but I was surprised to even be selected. At auditions, I didn’t feel like I deserved a spot in the play.

My complete lack of experience had me doubting my ability to act well in a play; however, one consistent critique throughout all my auditions is that I have great stage presence and that I show confidence when speaking. Without auditioning for this first play, I may not have discovered or realized I had those qualities.   

I am grateful to have been a part of plays, mostly because it taught me to get out of my comfort zone.

I never thought I would fit into the theater crowd, or at least what I thought that type of crowd was. This was just my foolish thinking because now I am in the theater group.  

The more I reflect on what I’ve done in my life so far, I realize what I do was not so different from the theater kids do: entertain. I was part of a dance group for seven years of my life, I started playing the piano at the age of eight and I was in my high school’s marching band for six years. Looking back on everything, it makes sense for me to try acting.

Our college years are a time of exploration and discovery. Never had I thought I would be comfortable acting on stage in front of an audience. Putting yourself out there in situations that are foreign to you can truly be an enlightening experience.

Thaddeus is a senior in LAS. He can be reached at [email protected].