I was thinking about new beginnings a few days ago. It’s because it’s September and September makes me think of going back to school. I always had a new notebook and pencil box for that first day. I was very excited about seeing friends that I had not seen all summer. Had they changed? Was my best friend going to be in my Home Room? What would my new teacher be like? I heard that this grade has a lot more homework than last year. I couldn’t sleep the night before that first day of school.
Now going back to school has that same excitement of new beginnings, new opportunities, new adventures. Some things have changed. Now I am the teacher. I begin teaching my classes at New York University’s Graduate Acting Program this week. I have a new group of NYU Grad Acting students who are entering their Second Year of the program. I don’t know them and they don’t know me. Will they like my class? Will they find it challenging?
I will also continue teaching my Third Year students in NYU Grad Acting. We know each other but the work we are doing on Shakespeare is new. I assigned monologues to each of them over the summer and I can’t wait to work on the monologues with them. What will be new is combining their previous voice and speech work while they are acting the pieces. I can’t wait to see/hear their work. They are an amazingly talented group of actors.
Some things don’t change – I have a new notebook.