Dear Graduates

Once upon a time

I was riding a camel

(I still don’t know why)

I was 16 at the time

And the guide up ahead asked me how I was feeling about entering my last few years of high school

I mumbled some kind of sulky teenage response

He turned around and said

“Mate, just put your head down for a couple of years,

It will be over before you know it,

and then you might not have to guide camel rides for the rest of your life”

Mmm

I would actually love to experiment with being a camel ride guide

But I got his point

Regardless if I work my arse off

Or I’m a complete lazy bones

Time will pass

And I will reap whatever I have sown.

Right now

The average 3rd year acting student at drama school

Has half a year left in their studies

The heads are starting to rise

And the finish line is in sight

Some might be desperately trying to escape the confines

Others might be trepidatiously looking over the edge of the nest

Wondering if they will fly

Or fall to a fiery death (bit dramatic)

But the end is near

You have been crammed full of tools and techniques

And had more bizarre experiences than any non-drama-school uni student could possibly imagine (or understand)

But

The majority of the experience has been had

And these last 6 months will be over before you know it

You are doing something you will never have the opportunity to do again

Sure, you can keep going to acting classes in the decades to come

But when else in your life

Will you dedicate 3 full years of your time & energy

To doing things like voice, movement, history of theatre, Alexander technique, improvisation, music, accents, mime, clowning, dance, stunts, etc etc

Consistently

Every day

With incredible facilities

And incredible facilitators?

I’m currently in a library leaning back in my chair

Thinking about those years for me

God

11 years after graduating from NIDA

I would give anything

To just once more

Wake up early

Dress in tight fitting black lycra

And lie down on those cold wooden floors again

(Whilst fighting for a position closest to the gas heater)

If I close my eyes

And take a second to actually place myself in that moment…

I feel tired

I feel over it

I feel ready to leave

Let this be over already…

But when I think about rolling over onto my side

And look at who is around me

What a bloody motley crew of human beings

I see Bri-Bri fighting the balance between complete dedication & getting the giggles

Matty is right there next to her in the trenches

Andrew is playing his guitar

I can hear Kurt thinking “Oh, you know what…”

Dave’s hair is perfect

Katie and Guyman are singing & moving with swag

Morgie smells of delicious banana bread

Gabe is having a complex conversation with Gideon about superheroes

Benedict isn’t here yet - he’s outside smoking with Nadim

Meyne is sketching in his notebook

Rob is drinking coffee (whilst Alan is trying to play some kind of prank on him)

Jenny is doing some kind of interpretive dance that I don’t quite understand

Sam is asking “where’s Branden?”

Harry is busting out notes like a pro

Batch is running a stand up routine

Silvina is figuring out if mercury retrograde is to blame

Michelle is finding someone to hug tightly

On and on

It’s like a weird experimental group of new Sesame Street characters

And it took me far...

Far too long

To realise

That this motley crew...

This is my family

Regardless of where I am in the world

There they are

Shared suffering sure as heck does something to bring a group of humans together

We went through experiences that I will never have the opportunity to do again

No more rockstar exercise

No more animal workshop

No more same time, same place, every, single, day.

I never would’ve thought that once I was out in the industry…

I would be working alongside them on set

Walking in the city protesting with them

Acting in things they had written

Holding sound gear for them in things they were producing

Running lines for their self tapes a decade later

Supporting their petition they started

Being by their side on their wedding day

Having late night phone calls once their new baby was finally asleep

Whispering in that director’s ear to hire them (just so we can hang out in the trailer)

Of course, we were not all the best of friends

We still aren’t

Some speak every day

Others havant spoken in years

But I’m not talking about liking each other

I’m talking about love

The doing part

To celebrate the extraordinary highs

To give flowers at an opening

To give standing ovations, even when the work sucks

To just be quiet and hug when no more words can help.

I was once waiting at a traffic light in my car

I looked to my right

And standing there was someone who I graduated

We hadn’t spoken in years

We looked at each other

In silence

And smiled

For a long moment

Until the light turned green

And we nodded as I drove away

Yep

Those 3 years

We did it

And we did it together

And for that

We will always have a bond

Always.

To the grads…

Look around you

Like it or not

This is your family

This is the group you get to go influence the industry with

So

Take care of each other as you slowly step into this new professional world

Oh… the places you’ll go

x