5 Tips for Getting Involved in Performing Arts in TY
5 Tips for Getting Involved in Performing Arts in TY
In transition year you don’t get much homework, so you’re usually stuck with finding work experience or figuring out how to stay involved with the school events while getting the most out of the non-academic year. This can make finding time for the things you love difficult. For TY students that love performing arts, but want to take part in school events and fundraising, here are some tips for staying on top of your activities, school related and extracurricular, while having time for the activities you love.
Tip 1: Get a Yearly Planner
Some people recommend getting a bullet journal to help stay organised, but I find that a yearly planner like this one (Pictured below) help to make scheduling events easier without having to rummage through a book to figure out if you have any tasks coming up. Whether you prefer smaller yearly planners or ones that you can put up like a poster, they’re great for planning events in transition year. Maybe this doesn’t strike you as something that can help out with performing arts, but it’s good to know, at a glance, what might conflict with auditions, performances, and rehearsal dates.
A Yearly Planner is Very Useful (Source: Plush Design Studio, Unsplash)
Tip 2: Audition for School Productions
This is probably one of the most important tips; To audition for any productions held by your school. While not all schools have an annual musical or play, if yours does, take the opportunity to perform. With the many team-building activities transition year offers, it can be difficult to find a production that doesn’t have many conflicts with your busy schedule. Taking part in a school production means that you’re far less likely to have conflicts with school activities, and you get to perform with friends from school, or even make a few!
Tip 3: Find a Performing Arts Society
Performing Arts societies tend to post open auditions for the companies that they’re affiliated with. This makes the search for auditions far less of a hassle. While finding performing arts societies in your proximity can be difficult sometimes, for anyone that has a particular interest in Musical Theatre, I’d recommend Aims.ie. You can search for auditions by region, making it far easier to find auditions in your area.
Tip 4: Look out for Auditions in August
While this isn’t always the case, most auditions for theatre companies, as well as performances, are in August. So, if you don’t get involved quickly, it might be more difficult to get involved as August and early September is mainly the audition season.
Tip 5: Drink Lots of Tea
It’s never the easiest finding the right audition for yourself, so when the opportunity arises to perform, you want to be as healthy as possible. Without this, you may find yourself with Laryngitis or a cold on the day of a performance or a show. While you can never totally prevent colds and flus, and one might sneak up on you when it’s least desired, it’s good to do your best to keep healthy. My recommendation for preventing a sore throat and keeping warm, is drinking plenty of tea – my personal favourite being lemon, ginger, and honey.
(Source: Hans Vivek, Unsplash)
As a whole, there’s a lot more to learn about getting involved in performing arts in TY, but a lot of that comes from experience and trial and error, much of which can’t be learned through an article. In general, don’t be afraid to make mistakes because, as long as you stay persistent, you’ll figure out what works for you and how to manage your life in TY.