This summer, I worked at Brownville Village Theatre in Brownville, NE. It's a town of less than 200 with a repertory theatre right smack dab in the middle. When I got the job, I wasn't really sure what to think. I had to say, before I got here, my expectations were very low. I envisioned working in a one-street town in the middle of the desert with a tumbleweed or two strolling by. Boy, was I wrong. The area was stunning, the town was gorgeous, and the theatre (although it was a little small) was a lifechanging experience. I have learned so much this summer as an actor. It's pretty phenomenal. I couldn't have been happier. This is a picture my good friend Johanna took of the area:

     You should check out her blog. Her name is Johanna Jackson with the Jujubee blog! Anyway! Tonight was the first night that we closed one of our shows here at Brownville. It still hasn't quite set in. The show we closed was actually my favourite out of the 5 that we rotated this summer. The other 4 will be closed the next 3 days. It's hard to believe the summer's already over. I have to say, I am excited to return to my old apartment. Back home, I live in a little efficiency by myself. Here, I live with 13 other people. Needless to say, the privacy change was the biggest shock. However, I love my theatrical family here and will be so sad to say goodbye. Although the shows we did were silly, it's sad to see them close.

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     First things first, I would like to express how much I love Sir Ian McKellen. I think he's absolutely fantastic. An incredible actor that has done more for the theatrical community than any of us can ever thank him for (but to start with, thank you, Sir Ian, for helping to reserve the Rose Theatre's ruins). I found out a while ago that at one point in time when I was a kid, I could've seen both Sir Ian AND Sir Patrick Stewart in a production of "Waiting for Godot" that was playing in the West End while I was visiting London. I've seen Sir Patrick since then, in "A Merchant of Venice," but I still have yet to see Sir Ian perform live. Fingers crossed, knock on wood, I'll be able to see him at least once in my life.

     Now, getting down to business with business cards. As I said before, I've really started to think more about marketing myself as a professional. I have my website (which I hope to have a permanent link for at some point in my blog template...), but I've been meaning to buy business cards. As one of my friends pointed out, I should buy ones that include my headshot. So using zazzle and a beautiful template that someone made, I fashioned this:

      On the back will be one of my favourite headshots. I like it! I plan on buying a box of these once I'm financially stable again (these next few months are going to be a little hectic... Now that my summer stock job is just about finished, I'll be looking for something new soon). So that's that! It's weird to think I'm buying business cards for myself now. I know this is a little over-dramatic to say, but it really does feel like I was just a kid yesterday, and was wishing to grow up. Now here I am, about ready to order my first box of business cards. Time really flies, doesn't it?

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Hello, Friends!

     Being as this is my first blog I feel the need to introduce myself. My name is Stephanie Piper. I'm a senior in college studying for a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatrical Performance. To put it simply, I'm an actor.

      Lately, I've been thinking a lot about making that step into the professional world. Even though I still have a year and a half left before I graduate (I'm in a 4.5 year program and will graduate December of 2013), I want to be as ready as humanly possible for the big bad world. This summer (inspired by friends at a summer stock theatre I've been working at), I've already set up a website, have a good idea as to what kind of business card I want to order, and have started setting up more social networking sites for myself. I think I'm going to wait to create a facebook fan page until I graduate, but eventually that will come too. I feel like there are a few really great reasons to start a blog. Most importantly, I feel like this will be a great way to chronicle my journey throughout the next several years. It's going to be an adventure, to say the least!

     I'll briefly tell you about my ambitions and goals you'll be following as you hear my story. The best place to start is the beginning. I wasn't a big actor in high school. I was only in 4 plays before I came to college, and all the roles in said plays were very small (to say the least). At the time of my graduation, I wanted to go into singing, and more specifically Opera. I was originally going to go to a school in St. Louis to study Music/Vocal Performance, but ended up following my boyfriend at the time to a completely different school. It's often said that following people you're in relationships with is stupid and reckless, but it lead me to my passion. At this school, I decided to pursue a degree in theatre for a year and then return to the dream school at another time. Instead, I fell head over heels for the theatrical world. Now, I'm getting close to graduating and my ambitions have soared higher than I could've ever expected. A year ago, I studied Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre in London, and ended up falling in love with the city. In August of 2014, I plan on moving back to the big city for good. I hope to be studying for an MFA at one of the drama schools there, but if not, I will start my career overseas. It's going to be an intense and positively terrifying journey to get there, but I'm more than ready to take it on.

"We don't live for realities, but for the fantasies, the dreams of what might be. If we lived for reality, we'd be dead, every last one of us." - Michael Shurtleff

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