Every theater kid has an iconic origin story. It’s inevitable. We’re all part of a very specific subcategory of human beings who love dramatics, dance, color, and grandeur. My theater kid origin story starts where many kids born in 2003 do: at Shiz University.
Wicked.
Basic, I know. But it’s not what you think.
Yes, Wicked was the first Broadway show I ever saw. I was nine, I wore head-to-toe Justice, and my life was changed that day.
But my story starts even earlier than that.
I was born on November 12, 2003. But I was supposed to be born on October 31, 2003. I was born two weeks late. And what, you might ask, were my parents doing on October 31, 2003?
They were at the opening weekend of Wicked on Broadway.
Wicked has been part of my story from the very beginning.
See? Iconic.
But every theater kid’s origin story looks a little different.
Last week, I had the chance to speak with Theo Lencicki, Artistic Director of the Broadway Education Alliance. His theater kid origin story began with a life-changing production of Beauty and the Beast.
Beauty and the Beast showed Theo that the interests shaping his childhood didn’t have to fit into one box. He loved growing up playing baseball and found that the teamwork and camaraderie of sports wasn’t all that different from being part of an ensemble. Theater simply sparked something new, a love of performing and storytelling that would ultimately shape his path.
On speaking with Theo, he was able to show me, a new member of the Camp Broadway world, exactly why Camp Broadway is the iconic origin story for so many theater kids.
Being a “theater kid” is not a job description. You don’t have to grow up to be an actor, dancer, director, choreographer, or even work in the arts at all. Sometimes, being a theater kid simply means that you found something in the theater that made you feel like yourself. Maybe it was performing. Maybe it was designing a set, running backstage, writing a story, making a costume, or sitting in the audience and finding awe in the fact that you were just completely transported somewhere else.
As Theo puts it, the most important trait for anyone joining a cast or performance company “is simply to be a good human.”
Camp Broadway introduces young people to the arts without expecting them to arrive as anything other than themselves. They only ask that they strive to be a good human.
Educators like Theo and the team at Camp Broadway welcome kids from all walks of life: the sporty, the extroverted, the artsy, the shy. There is a place for everyone in the world of theater, and every new addition brings another character to a much larger cast. Think of Camp Broadway as the starting line: a place to develop the skills to become part of the arts community while discovering your own character, both on, around, and far beyond the stage.
Experience in the arts lays the foundation for understanding that while you may have your own character, your own story, and your own moment in the spotlight, theater, like life, is built together.
Many kids who grew up in tap shoes, or running lights for their high school, or student directing, may grow up to have jobs far beyond the theater realm. Their unique character, their collaborative spirit, and “theater kid” foundation may be what sets them apart, no matter the room they are in.
To wrap things up, I think the most iconic part of any theater kid’s origin story is that they found a place and a community to speak to the most unique parts of their character.
In your adult years, you could be someone like me; someone who grew up thinking they were destined to perform but ultimately found themselves through a love of sharing stories about theater and its ever-evolving community. Or, like Theo, you could find your place by inspiring the next generation of artists. Or, you could grow up to be a firefighter, or a lawyer, or a doctor. But that origin story never leaves you.
I’m curious to know where your iconic theater kid journey started. Send us a DM at @officialcampbroadway or email me at blog@campbroadway.com with your story. We’re building a community, I love it!
And with that, my Camp Broadway community, my cast of characters, I have a semi-cheesy message to leave you all with today: Wherever you land, and whatever it takes to get there, remember to be a good human and remember that you are, effortlessly, iconic.
Talk soon,
Jenny
