The GRE

What is the GRE?  Well it is the Graduate Record Examination - or another oneof those standardized bubble tests you take to get into school.  In this case, graduate school.  It is a monster of a test with nearly a four hour testing period, strict rules, and computer-based testing that gets harder the better you do.  It is based off of three diffrent scores: a Verbal Section (think vocabulary and comprehension), a quantitaive section (algebra, geometry, statistics - mostly), and a writing section. Ouch.

So why is an actor taking this test?  And why am I sharing it with you? 

I decided to take the test while I still had testing skills deep in my bones to open doors in the future, should I ever decide to go to graduate school.  It has been an important lesson I've learned as an actor - create possibilities for yourself.  It doesn't mean you ahve to take every chance, but don't close a door before you are certain you don't want to go through it. Hey - analogies! Basically - just because I am happy pursuing acting the way I do now doesn't mean I may not want to seek higher education in the future.  So I made sure to keep that door open! And education certainly plays a huge part in acting.  I genuinly believe that you must be a smart actor to be a good actor.

One of the benefits of taking the test has been looking into possible graduate programs - there are some amazing options out there to not just study acting, but also the cultural impact of theater and performance.

I share all of this for a few reasons. 1. So you know where I have been this past month - studying! 2. Because my life as a student and academic is a part of who I am - and so informs my choices as an actor. 3. Because it is a big accomplishment and I'm glad it's over!

For those that don't know: I'm a pretty big self-proclaimed nerd. I acctually studied chemistry in college as well as theater.  So if you ever need an actor to spit out big vocab words or pipette like a pro (CSI - I'm lookin' at you!)  - I'm your girl! Just check out the sweet research:
ZnO nonrods in an SEM scanner - looks cool right? I made them!