Ouroboros

In 2006 I graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Theatre. Following the instructions of my professors I moved up to Chicago to try and perform. During my first month I saw a show at iO and began a winding journey towards improv and sketch comedy.

At the Schwa show tonight during The Dream interview I discovered the volunteer, Nina, is finishing up her senior year at ISU and majoring in theatre. She has her senior showcase audition in a week and plans to move to the city after graduation.

It was a very odd feeling having this 22 year old woman describe, almost identically, my situation 8 years past. In the grand scheme of things 8 years is not that long but my life has changed dramatically since then. From Nina's description the ISU theater department hasn't changed much: Dr. Kim and Jack McG are still ridiculing/shaping those with fresh artistic ambitions, good parts are still hard to come by, and the department as a whole is still trying to funnel grads into Chicago painting, I'm sure, a somewhat inaccurate picture of the opportunity.

The experience felt very cyclical, felt like moving without movement, like I was stuck in a timewarp glitch, got a glimpse of something I wasn't meant to see. Made me feel like a pawn on some wider chess board. Most careers have paths, some clearer than others, and patterns emerge.

It was eerie looking at this young woman full of dreams and desires. Seeing the paths her life could take.