When I was in High School... - Mary Hamilton, Around The World with Cinderella

1.  How did you become involved in the performing arts?

In high school I was not involved in the performing arts. The small public school I attended for eleven years had no performing arts programs of any kind.  Sports? yes, but no visual or performing arts.  My senior year, my school closed, so I began attending a larger school. It did not offer a drama class (band, visual arts, and chorus - yes, but not other performing arts), but did produce a junior and senior play. I had never ever imagined myself performing in any capacity, so I volunteered to help out with make-up for both productions.

Many years later, I was a children's librarian, and storytelling was an expected part of my job. It soon became the part of my job I loved best, so back in 1983 when budget cuts in the city where I worked resulted in my being laid off from the job, I decided to use my savings to work toward supporting myself through storytelling. Storytelling and teaching others about the art of storytelling (and the very different art of reading aloud -- I emphasize the difference because sometimes people assume the two arts are the same -- they are not!) has been the source of my livelihood ever since.

By the way, if your opportunities for seeing performing arts are limited, don't despair. By the time I graduated high school, I had seen exactly five live theatre productions. 1) a play I faintly remember going to see in grade school, put on by high school students. I recall a boy wearing a dress pretending to be a girl, and that's all I remember, 2) a traveling troupe of actors presenting Romeo and Juliet, 3) my aunt who went to a boarding school her freshman year of high school in a production at her boarding school, 4) the junior class play when I was a senior, and 5) the senior class play when I was a senior.  That's it -- my experiences were very, very limited.  So, don't let limitations stop or lack of opportunities become a permanent stopping place. 

2. What is the most interesting part you've ever played?  Why?

Hmm, well, I don't play parts, since I'm a storyteller. So, I've only been in one play in my whole life.  If I remember correctly, the title was "Loose Ends" and I played the conservative friend of the main female character (and I can't recall their names?).  Instead of playing parts, I tell stories. So, that means that most of the time on stage, I am myself, telling my audience stories (not a character who tells stories).

The only exception is a one-woman show, "Children of Richard, Rhoda, and God" in which  three characters tell the story -- myself at age 17, my boyfriend Bill at age 17, and myself now. All three of those characters tell stories, which mean all three of them sometimes quickly show the audience glimpses of the other characters they talk about (whenever those other characters speak, for example, they briefly become them when they are talking).

3. What advice would you give to young people who are interested in getting involved in the performing arts?

Go for it -- look for opportunities to become involved. If you have no money, watch for free opportunities to see someone perform. Make your own decisions about what you like and don't like, and yet, when someone likes a performance you did not care for, ask them what they liked about it -- not in a challenging their opinion way, but in a satisfying your curiosity way.   Finding out how and why others have opinions that differ from yours will prove a helpful performance skill as well as a useful life skill.

4. How can teens become ambassadors for the performing arts during the school year?

Show up!  Go watch performers of all kinds.  Thank people for their performances, and if you are performing, please remember to thank your audience for their support.  When you've enjoyed a production, be sure to tell others about it so more people can have the opportunity to see it.

If you are low on funds, find out if there is any volunteer job you could do to earn a ticket to a performance you'd like to see. It never hurts to ask; you may hear "no" but you'll never hear "yes" if you don't ask.  And if you do volunteer, take that volunteer job as seriously as any job you would be paid to do (because you really are being paid by the performance).

Write reviews of performances for your school newspaper, and /or write letters to the editor of your local newspaper about performance opportunities you know of that you believe others would be interested in. There's no need to be snarky; just describe the performance and tell what you liked about it, or if it was lacking what you wish had happened to improve it.

Also, if you are not finding like-minded teens at your school, check with you local public library. Many public libraries have teen programs, and this may help you locate others teens who share your interests.   They are out there,  but if you attend a school where sports is truly the only game going, it may take more time to find those like-minded souls. Do not give up.

5. Where can teens find a community of other performing artists around the city?

I am guessing this questions refers to Indianapolis. I live in Frankfort, KY so I would have ideas about this for teens in my town, but I don't know what to suggest here, except inquiring at public library Young Adult Departments, which I've already mentioned above.