20 Signs You Were Die-Hard Thespian In High School

Hello! My name is Jamilah and I would like to share with you this most amazing article. Now, if you read that to the rhythm of the opening number of the Tony Award-winning musical comedy Book of Mormon, you might be a die-hard thespian. Don’t worry, I am too, and that’s why I can write an entire article about how geeky I am in hopes of finding people that were just like me in high school. These are the things I did in high school (and may or may not still do) that exposed me to everyone as a complete and utter drama queen. Only the ultimate thespian would know!

1. The District and State Thespian Festivals Were the Best Few Days of Your Life.

If you were a member of the International Thespian Society and didn’t attend festival every year, then were you actually a thespian? Festival was both the most stressful and exhilarating time of my life at the time. A week/weekend away from home with no school, staying in a hotel with your best friends, and doing what you love to do—what could be better than that? Also, fangirling over the mainstage performers who were talented out of this world that felt like celebrities and fangirling over (and/or stalking) the actual celebrities that would come were a fun pastime as well.

2. You Were Obsessed with RENT.

I’ve definitely attempted to perform every part to “La Vie Bohéme” as a one-woman before because of course I knew every single word when I was like 13 and didn’t even know what a bisexual was or who Ruth Bader Ginsburg is. If you were a theatre geek, you definitely tweeted “December 24^th. 9PM. Eastern Standard Time. From here on in, I shoot without a script,” and all of your non-theatre friends though you were edgy. The gag is, you were just stealing the opening line to the late Jonathan Larson’s most famous musical.

3. Glee Spoke to You On a Spiritual Level.

Alright Gleeks, admit it: y’all wanted to be Rachel Berry so badly because she was your spirit animal. Glee was the kind of show that even though it was centered around McKinley’s show choir, it had all of the same good and bad stereotypes of a theatre club: drama on and offstage, super talented people, super untalented people, and a melting pot of minorities and outcasts who gravitate to this club because it’s a safe space to express their true self. Y’all lived for that; I know I definitely did. P.S., I tend to think of myself as a mixture between Queen Santana of Lima Heights Adjacent and Miss Whitney Houston Jr., Mercedes.

4. You Followed a Broadway Playlist on Spotify.

Fun fact: my Broadway Spotify playlist “Give ‘Em the Old Razzle Dazzle” is 37 hours and 12 minutes long and counting. You can follow it here.

5. You Rapped Hamilton to Your Friends to Be Cool.

6. You Dug Deep to Find “Underground” Musicals for Audition Material.

You thought that if you did something no one has ever heard of, then there would be no way someone else would do the same song as you. The twist is, if you were like me and studied musicals in your spare time, then you probably knew exactly what that “underground” musical was.

7. Your Rep Book Had at Least One of the “Basic B****” Songs in it.

You all know exactly what songs I’m talking about if you’re a true thespian.

8. You Went to Every Post-Production Cast Party.

9. You Performed a Musical Theatre Piece at your School’s Talent Show.

Odds are, if you’re like me, then you most likely won because you put on the performance of a lifetime as opposed to the other people who probably went up there and lip-synced an Adele song. Was my performance immaculate? Absolutely not, but walking away with $100 after belting Barbra Streisand was.

10. You Quit a Sport or Other Extracurricular to Devote Your Time to Drama Club.

I was involved in 8 extracurriculars my freshman year of high school. I was #stressed. As I spent high school finding myself and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, I realized that I needed to give my theatre troupe priority.

11. You Binge-Watched Broadway Youtube Mini Series.

If you weren’t obsessed with Obsessed by Seth Rudetsky or Side By Side By Susan Blackwell on Youtube, then you’ve been missing out. I would binge-watch episodes on Youtube for hours like it was a brand new series on Netflix. This is most iconic episode of Obsessed. Honestly, everyone should know this piece of pop culture.

12. You Were the Most Outgoing Person in Your Class.

You definitely were the first person to raise your hand in class because you had great public speaking skills, and if you were like me, then you utilized those public speaking skills in order to make yourself the class clown. Not the kind of class clown that got in trouble all the time, but the kind that both teachers and students adored because you were both hilarious and intelligent. If you’re a thespian, you just are a social butterfly.

13. You Went to Theatre Camp.

There’s a secret rivalry between all of the summer theatre camps in the country. When you meet people from other camps you’re then forever know as a “Fill in the Blank Kid” such as a Stagedoor Kid or and Interlochen Kid. I, personally, am a Camp Broadway Kid Class of 2015.

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14. You Frequently Watched Broadway Bootlegs.

Honestly, most of the Broadway shows I’ve seen were bootlegs, but hey, they were really good. When I could actually afford to go to New York one summer to see shows on Broadway in real life made me appreciate live theatre so much more.

15. Broadway Gossip Felt Personal.

You and your friends woke up early to watch the Tony-nom announcement on TV so you could discuss your opinion on who got nominated for what. Or maybe you had an email subscription to Playbill.com, TheatreMania, and Broadway.Com.

16. You Could Quote Shakespeare in Everyday Conversation.

17. You Watched the Tony Awards Every Year.

18. You Get Entertained by Listening to a Good Overture or Entr’acte.

I also have a playlist dedicated to overtures and entr’actes. When I’m sitting in a theater, I get very excited when I hear the first few bars of a beautiful overture played by a phenomenal orchestra. If you’re a thespian you totally get it.

19. Your Senior Quote Ws a Reference to a Play or Musical.

Yup, that’s me.

20. You Cried Every Closing Night of a Show.

“Long live the show” is what my stage manager used to say to us after we finished striking the set after our closing night performance. It was always an emotional time to close a show that you had worked so hard on for so long. The memories, the lessons learned, the relationships built are what made the theatre very special for me, and maybe you too. The ultimate thespian cried!

Let us know what you think about being a thespian in the comments below!

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