It is such an honor to be speaking here today for the Iowa Thespian Leadership Day, which is devoted to brainstorming, strategizing, and building robust theatre programs across our state – with student leaders at every turn.<\/p>\n

The Iowa Thespians has been a constant leader championing theatre education in our state. Theater means so much to us: it gives us a place to find our tribe, to push our limits, and sometimes to sing show tunes at the absolute top of our lungs in the halls at school. But Theatre education will give you so much more than that. It will teach you some of the most important life skills you will learn in school. How to look confident when you don\u2019t feel it, how to empathize with somebody you totally disagree with, and how to lie convincingly about your late homework. Trust me, these are essential skills in college. The Iowa Thespians understand that theater education gives us the opportunity to showcase our skills in both performance and technical theater, and on days like today it allows us to acknowledge each other and recognize the work we are all doing.<\/p>\n

Like many of us here today, theater education has always been a huge part of my life. Many of you may know my family connection to the IHSSA; but even when I was still in elementary school, I already looked up to the high school student leaders in theater.<\/p>\n

My High School Theatre Idols<\/h3>\n

In elementary school, my family lived in Le Mars, Iowa and my dad taught speech and theatre at the high school there. Our family would host raucous thespian parties at our house and there would be enormous stacks of pizza and pop bottles as far as the eye could see. If this was theater, I was all in! But, my favorite part of the day was watching these talented, hilarious, beautiful high school idols of mine play theatre games together in our yard. There\u2019s just nothing like watching the dreamy quarterback stuff twelve marshmallows in his mouth and cry out \u201cpudgy bunny.\u201d Those students were golden, magical in my eyes. They were confident, funny, and charismatic. I wanted to be just like them.<\/p>\n

When I see a room full of confident, funny, and charismatic high schoolers, it takes me back to the feeling of those golden afternoons.<\/p>\n

You might not see it now, but today is one of your golden afternoons – no matter what the weatherman says. Today is going to be a day of good ideas and even better collaborations.<\/p>\n

What Will Be Your Impact?<\/h3>\n

But, I urge you all to understand that today is also a day of reflection. This is a day in which you decide what kind of impact you want to have in your theatre program, in your local community, and as agents of theatre in your state.<\/p>\n

When I reflect on what theater has meant in my life, it\u2019s not the golden afternoons that had the most significant impact. In fact, the power of the theater and of my theater education affected me most on one of the darkest days of my life.<\/p>\n

Performing Saved My Life<\/h3>\n

I have never spoken publicly about this before. It\u2019s difficult to bring up and certainly doesn\u2019t make for rousing dinner table conversation. But, I think it is important. Because life isn\u2019t all about golden afternoons. No matter who you are, how talented, how smart, how attractive, you will face some dark days. And it is at those times when the power of the theater shines the most bright.<\/p>\n

Nine years ago, almost to the date, I was violently assaulted by a stranger while walking to my new apartment from my new job.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had just moved to Baltimore, Maryland for graduate school and I was in love with the city. I had been accepted into the prestigious Peabody Conservatory to study opera performance. My apartment had central air, and my new job at Fogo de Chao\u00a0meant I would have free meals. I was living the life.<\/p>\n

And then suddenly, it was taken all away. Before I even knew what was happening, I was falling backwards down cement stairs, shielding my face from being punched, and then it all went black. When I opened my eyes, I was in an ambulance and they were checking to make sure I still had all of my teeth. I made it into an emergency room before I even stepped foot in my school\u2019s performance hall. It was a record, even for Baltimore.<\/p>\n

While I was recovering from ten staples and a potentially deviated septum my first thought was how it would affect my singing and my ability to start grad school. My second feeling was deep, existential confusion. \u201cWhy would a mugger, someone who was experienced in stealing money, target me? Clearly a graduate student? It\u2019s the worst target ever! Graduate students never have any money!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

We Would All Understand…<\/h3>\n

Afterwards, I was nervous about walking on the street by myself. I would gasp if someone ran up behind me too quickly. When the word of the attack spread, one of my professors reassured me that, \u201cyou know, Megan, we would all understand if you decided to move back home to Iowa\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

And for a few minutes, I thought about it.<\/p>\n

But my ambition made me strong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because although I learned that the world could be a terribly dark place, I also learned how much performing\u00a0meant to me. I was never giving up on my dream to become a professional singer. And that<\/em> guy, now spending his days in prison, wasn\u2019t taking it away from me. I had worked too hard, and I was not going back into another Iowa Winter, not when I had a free meal a day and a performance career waiting for me in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

My ambition made me strong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And my education made me strong. Because I remembered the Leonard Bernstein quote that my orchestra teacher told my class on September 11th, \u201cThis will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s a quote that coming across my Facebook feed a little too often. However, it is giving a lot of artists and musicians strength right now in the face of terrible bombings, wars, and diseases going on around the world.<\/p>\n

Theater, art, and music make us strong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019m sharing this with you in the hopes that today, as you think about what is coming up for you in the next school year, you will be inspired to take the next step. To not let anyone take away your drive to reach your goals. And, that you will be making art more intensely and more devotedly than before.<\/p>\n