Shannon Williams (‘24) has a pretty unique school schedule. After going to her chorus class, Advanced Treble Choir, she goes to her Theater IV class, a course she first decided to take in the spring semester of her junior year. Although both classes incorporate elements of singing, Williams didn’t always know that she had a passion for it. She wasn’t even sure that she was going to take her chorus class—it was merely luck when picking the elective.
“When I was looking at the elective course sheet in my freshman year, I didn’t really know what else I could put forward as an elective other than band. So I was like, how about I try the chorus class and see what that’s like? I tried it in the spring semester, and even though it was online, I absolutely loved it,” said Williams.
Williams has taken chorus every year since picking it as an elective as a freshman. Through the years, her favorite part has been the magic of the concerts themselves. The shows go by in a flash to her, so reflecting on them afterwards gives her the opportunity to think about the performance.
“One of my favorite memories from taking chorus is the winter concert in 2021, which was our first concert back in person after the virtual year. We got to sing what is now one of my most memorable songs, called See A Lullaby.” said Williams.
Her other fine arts class, Theater IV, has also given her countless memories that she’ll never forget. However, she also believes that the course gave her valuable skills, namely, grit.
“You’re going to have off-days. You’re going to have days where something isn’t working, or when you’re lacking energy. You just have to accept it and move on, then continue to work hard,” said Williams.
In addition to perseverance, taking both classes at the same time has taught her the importance of teamwork. Williams spends a lot of time around the same people, as the majority of people in her theater class are from her chorus class, and she believes that working with both groups of people in her chorus and theater class requires adaptability.
“Both classes are ensemble based, so you’re working a lot as a group and bonding with each other. And in both, you will be pretty vulnerable, so it’s important to just be flexible,” said Williams.
Before deciding to audition for Theater IV in her junior year, Williams already had a taste of acting through her theater extracurricular. This was one of her main pieces of advice that she had for those also thinking of taking both classes: to try it out little by little before taking the class.
“You don’t have to take the theater class. You could just do the extracurricular to just give it a try and get a feel for it. It doesn’t require that much time, even if you participate in the production. That way, you’ll know if you want to actually commit to it,” said Williams.
Williams has no doubt in her mind that taking both classes was the right choice. She’s seen herself grow as a person in both chorus and theater through always learning from her mistakes, continuously getting up when she’s fallen down. Williams looks forward to creating new memories with the people in her class that she learns, sings, and experiences the joy of performing with.
