This blog title is taken from a line of the Frank Sinatra standard "That's Life", a rather fitting song for what most people experience in graduate school. Listening to this song tonight made me think harder about what the lyrics are saying and the message it conveys.
"I've been up and down and over and out and I know one thing
Each time I find myself flat on my face
I pick myself up and get back in the race"
Now if that isn't fitting for graduate school, I don't know what is.
Year 2 has officially begun with merriment, meetings, and melee. Although for me it technically began about 2 weeks ago with the beginning of budgeting meets for my first show of the year, ASM for Rep 2: Owners, the school year kicked off this week with 2nd/3rd year orientation, class photos, and of course the Bundy speech.
James Bundy is truly a remarkable dean for the School of Drama. Not only does he know the name and backstory of every student in the school before they show up for the first day of orientation, he is intensely committed to making this place artistically and academically challenging, bright with life, and a safe space for students to learn and practice their craft. There are 9 departments in our school each with its own unique artistic qualities and challenges. We range from acting and design all the way to stage management and theatre management. And we are all artists and needing this home to take risks and challenge ourselves, our peers, and our faculty.
Dean Bundy is an excellent orator. His speeches, whatever their nature, are consistently engaging and the most prominent speech is the one he makes at the beginning of the year to the entire school. First I must mention that it is quite a sight to see the entire School of Drama--students, faculty, and staff--in one room together. It makes you realize how lucky you are to be there. And, once you've been there for awhile, it reminds you how much you love and respect every person in that room. Every person holds true meaning to the school and Dean Bundy is quick to acknowledge this. Prior to his speech, he names every single staff and faculty member and asks them to stand so that we are acquainted with them as well. They become our support team when things go awry and I appreciate that he takes the time to acknowledge everyone from the custodial staff all the way up to Maria in the Registrar who I personally appreciate beyond words. This introductory session takes quite awhile but it's worth it.
Following the introduction, he speaks about the upcoming year. First giving some anecdotes or metaphors (this year he kicked off his speech by referencing a recent Buzzfeed article about everyday items you are using incorrectly) and then the speech morphed into something slightly more profound and I swear you could have heard a pin drop in that theatre. He spoke of the gift of working in an environment such as ours where you are free to dream and explore and expose yourself without intense ramifications. He talked about how we all should allow ourselves to take risks because that furthers our art form. And he told us that we should allow ourselves to be vulnerable. To let ourselves be seen. We work and live in a world full of judgement and fear and the desire for stability but for a moment, for a day, for the rest of our graduate school experience, for as long as we can we should allow ourselves to be vulnerable and respect others for doing it as well. Asking ourselves to be who we truly are or to take an unexplored risk is frightening but it's character building and it will help us become who we are meant to be.
His speech particularly resonated with me as I concluded last year with the goal that I would allow myself to be seen rather than fading into the background as is my tendency. You're never going to be noticed if you don't give yourself permission to expose your feelings, ideas, and personality to the world. And we all deserved to be noticed.
So here's to a new year of risks, vulnerability, love, camaraderie, late nights, and letting ourselves be seen. You only have 3 years here--make it count.
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