Reflections
Senior Reflection
Since coming to Loyola at the beginning of my sophomore year as a transfer student, I have learned and grown so much as a theatre artist. Throughout my college career, I explored more into theatrical design with a focus on costume and hair & makeup design, dramaturgy, playwriting, performance, teaching theatre artistry, and more. My skill set in theatre has grown immensely which will serve me well once I graduate college. One of my favorite aspects of the theatre program here was that it exposed me to all the different fields of the theatre realm. Before declaring as a theatre major, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be a theatre major at all. For all of my Freshman year and a bit of my sophomore year, I was an undeclared major. What drew me to this theatre program was that I was able to try new fields of theatre I wasn’t exposed to before.
Since becoming a theatre major, I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone to try new things. For instance, before taking a scenic practicum, I had not touched any power tools. Before coming into the theatre program, I was unaware of how much I did not know about the theatre realm. Like this experience, it was nerve-wracking to try something new that I had not explored before. However, with every new experience I have tried, I have been very glad to have done it. If I had not pushed myself out of my comfort zone, I would have not realized I liked theatrical design, playwriting, or costuming. Pushing myself to try new things even though they seem scary has helped me tremendously.
By the end of my sophomore year after taking Design One, I realized that I was heavily interested in theatrical design. I knew then I wanted to keep exploring design and see where it would take me. Fall of 2023, I took the Makeup, Hair, and Wig Design class which opened a whole new realm for my design. I had an interest in hair and makeup but I never thought I would enjoy theatrical design of hair & makeup. Now halfway through my senior year, I worked on The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui as the Hair & Makeup Designer. In taking all of the design courses and all of the experiences I have had at Loyola, have shaped and helped me grow into the theatre artist I am today.
For my last semester at Loyola, I will be performing in Notes From The Field and serving as the assistant costume designer for the spring musical Legally Blonde. I am excited to be performing in a mainstage show since I have not acted or taken an acting class in a while. Even though I have been focusing on the design track these past couple of years, I have a love for performing as well. Moreover, costume designing for Legally Blonde has been a wonderful process so far and I am very excited for next semester to see the vision of the show come to life. Overall, I am so grateful for these opportunities and I am so happy to end my undergrad on a high note.
After I graduate from college, I am not sure what I will be doing. One of the key factors I am still figuring out is if I am going to stay in Chicago or land back home in Minnesota for a bit. My goal is to be able to stay in Chicago and pursue a theatre career here. I am interested in trying to find jobs in the costume, acting, or stage management realm.
Overall, I have enjoyed my time here at Loyola. I am grateful and happy that I made the transfer to Loyola to pursue theatre. The wonderful professors here in the theatre department helped me tremendously become the theatre artist I am today.