So much has happened.
I remember last year around this time, or two months before it, when I was applying for university. University of Toronto Mississauga was one choice. The other one I took seriously was Ryerson. For acting.
At the Ryerson audition, I was among all the applicants, and I remember the room so well. We had to perform two things: a play shortened to two minutes, and a monologue. I’d prepared my monologue well in advance and polished it and worked on it for weeks. (Later, this same monologue, when I performed it in drama class, got an A. It was from Shakespeare.)
So I got up and did my play—Chekhov’s “The Seagull” in three minutes. The audience laughed a lot. Another person also did The Seagull and mine went over at least as well; even the director we were auditioning for laughed.
... But just before I did my monologue, something clicked in my head. I thought, "I should improvise a monologue. These people are clearly into funny things more than serious ones." I felt the decision very strongly and didn’t think a second time. So I did it, I made it up as I went.
It was... meh.
I wouldn’t even repeat it now for you.
But it seemed like such a good idea.
And what’s happened since? I was turned down by Ryerson. I went to UTM. I took all kinds of classes, some of which really meant a lot to me. I spent countless hours in the car, talking to my brother and my mum. I met a ton of people -- and friends. I did challenging work and had the occasional epiphany at school. In short, I went on a new course in life and changed from who I was to who I am. And I am vastly different in some ways than I was before all this.
Why?
Because of two seconds, and not more, when I thought, “I should improvise this thing.”
Two seconds decided this entire last year, from the people I now happily call my friends, to the amazing things I’ve learned, to the person I’ve become.
(Of course maybe I wouldn’t have made the program anyway... but hey, Peters had faith in that monologue!)
And looking back at the end of this year, all I can think is,
maybe it wasn’t so stupid to have (accidentally!) thrown the audition after all.
It’s been good.
