Last week, I was one of the lucky few to participate in the Macaulay Sing! competition in an original musical written and composed by our very own Annmarie Ericco and Mitchell Guido. Though we came in second to Hunter (who had an unbelievable performance by the way), we really put on a great show and had a wonderful time while doing.

There is something to be said about actually participating in the arts, and not just viewing it. It is a completely different experience and you can truly realize how much goes into a show. Everything is done on purpose. The lighting, the positioning, everything. Having been in my first real show, I now appreciate all of the little things that go into a real performance.

Another thing you realize is how much can go wrong without the audience realizing. We had our fair share of mishaps while putting our show on, but nothing that we didn’t bounce back from, almost seamlessly. Even scripted shows like ours require a certain amount of improv ability so that those things could be easily fixed. Luckily we had a great cast who could all think well on their feet.

If you ever have the opportunity to really do a something like this, I highly suggest you take it. There is nothing like making a joke on a stage and getting that swell from laughter from the audience. At the same time, there is nothing like having an intensely emotional scene and hearing the entire audience fall completely silent, investing themselves completely in the emotion of the scene. It was a wonderful experience and one that I hope to have the chance to do again in the future.