Theatre: My Story

"I think theatre helps students find who they are. I am currently an after school teacher and I believe that so many of my students are capable of becoming better people just through a couple of plays." - Jameela

(Photo from Pasadena High School's 2013 production of Hairspray) (I'm the one on the right)

Theatre has long been an important part of my life. I was interested in theatre as child but had few opportunities to participate. It wasn’t until the summer before 9th grade that I was in my first musical. I remember, so clearly, the moment when I fell in love with theatre. It was on the third day of my summer musical theatre camp. We were staging our first song, and running sections as we learned the choreography. I remember the feeling of elation coursing through my veins as I belted as loud as could, marching across the stage with intention. I felt joyous and alive like never before. As I moved through high school, theatre became increasingly important in my personal and social life, and I took every opportunity to perform. In college, I began to explore theatre in an academic way and broaden my involvement by moving into stage management and directing alongside taking classes in drama. Through my academic studies, I have become increasingly interested in harnessing the transformational power of theatre.

As I have said, theatre is essential to who I am. I cannot watch a musical without wanting to jump out of my seat and dance and sing along. I enjoy talking for hours about theatrical conventions, experimental works, and performances I’ve seen. However, I realize that I have benefited to access to theatre programs and education, something that so many young people do not get. Thus, expanding access is deeply important to me, and I believe that this work begins in advocating for theatre in schools.

When I was in 11th grade, I got the lead in the school musical, Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray. This was an exciting and pivotal moment in multiple ways. First, I was excited to have been cast as a lead, which I felt was a validation of my talent. Additionally, I have been overweight my entire life, and this role jump-started my journey toward self acceptance and body positivity. It was one of the first times in my life in which my appearance was celebrated rather than shamed, and it gave me a new sense of freedom and joy.

Furthermore, getting the opportunity to play a character that I identified with was essential to my empowerment. I finally felt like my voice was valuable and that there was a place for me in the art that I loved so much. However, I recognize that many students, especially those of marginalized identities, do not get to have this experience. Therefore, though I believe that theatre can empower anyone, I also believe deeply in the necessity of producing plays in which POC, LGBTQ+ folks, women, and other marginalized groups are represented and celebrated.

In college, I have found further empowerment through stage managing and directing shows, as I have learned about the power of collaboration, the core of any successful production. Through directing, I learned more about leadership than I have in any other context because I was required to work with dozens of creative minds and navigate competing interests and visions. Despite its challenges, directing a musical was one of the most exciting and rewarding things I have ever done. Never before had I worked so incredibly hard toward a goal, nor had I built connections with so many incredible people.

Overall, theatre has made me more empathetic, understanding, reflective, collaborative, and generous. It has become central to how I approach the world around me. By creating art, having ownership over that art, and exploring myself in the process, I have learned about loving both myself and others. Theatre is an inherently emotional and political art form and it undoubtedly has the power to transform lives.