Scholarship Essay Entry – Samuel S.

I was born to be a performer - at least that's what my family and friends told me when I was a young boy. By the time I reached high school and discovered the discipline and creativity of drama, I had also come to understand that it wasn't enough just to be a performer and draw attention to yourself. What you perform, and the impact it has on your audience, is more important than the person delivering the message.

While still attending high school, I was a member of the cast of Butt Ugly, the award-winning anti-tobacco performance piece. After a summer of preparation, we toured elementary and junior high schools in Central Alberta delivering a humour-filled play about the dangers of tobacco use. After each performance, we sat down with the students to reinforce the message that tobacco use is harmful. Part of our summer-long preparation was to become familiar with the effects of tobacco and develop the skills to conduct discussion groups with young students. In addition, Butt Ugly's extensive schedule meant that the cast members were required to miss class, but maintain our marks and studies.

Through my years of post-secondary education in theatre and film studies, I have come to realize even more clearly that I can have a positive impact on the world through performance. In the last year, I have taken part in a number of theatre-related projects that I believe add value to the community. I played a major role in a drama called Suburbia, which depicts the unfulfilling, unproductive ways in which many young people live there lives. It delivered a powerful message about finding value in life and was well received by audiences. I recently performed in Unnatural Selection, at the Edmonton Fringe Festival. This play tackled the sensitive issue of homosexuality and religion, as well as the difficulty and fear involved in reconciling the two. Like Suburbia, Unnatural Selection stirred up thought and discussion among audience members and reviewers and received significant public attention for its message.

In recent months, I have also had the opportunity to work as a supervisor at the theatre-based camp Artstrek, for Theatre Alberta. The camp offers young people from the ages of 12 to 18 an immersion course in the fun and power of drama. I simply couldn't refuse the chance to be a part of something so meaningful and transformative. I learned a great deal working with these young people. I can't tell you with certainty that I managed to change any student's life in a significant way. But if I positively influenced even one student's outlook, then I can honestly say the experience was worth it.

All great change has to start from a personal belief and when enough people share the same belief, it is granted power. Through my work in drama, I know I can challenge my audiences' perception and let them see things they may not have seen - and that the seed of positive change will be planted.