Sofia Rosenbaum
08/25/2022
CAS 100C
Professor Wright
Mini Speech #1
If you had intense anxiety, what’s the first thing to do to help with it? Probably not play a
wacky character in front of a huge audience. Unless you’re me, that is. I’ve had a history of
stumbling and stuttering my way through social events in real life, but onstage I’m cool,
confident and, strangely, comfortable. Throughout my years of acting experience, the shy,
socially awkward girl I was when I was younger transformed into a bold socially awkward girl
who cares much less about what people think of her and shamelessly goes after what she wants.
See, anxiety isn’t something that goes away. For many people, it’s something that follows
them around and looms over them, even though it may not look like it on the outside. Some of
the greatest, most prolific actors, musicians, politicians, and other public figures suffer from
anxiety. And they’ve all got to learn, at one point or other, how to control it- not get rid of it, but
control it. That’s what I’ve begun to do.
And because of that, I’m pretty sure I can introduce myself to you without messing it up
too badly! Hi everyone! I’m Sofia Rosenbaum, age 20, artist, singer and podcaster, constantly
belting out musical theatre songs, imagining my life as a comic strip and/or Netflix drama and
trying to translate it into a coherent story on paper, analyzing TV shows and movies to the core
and, most importantly, acting in plays and musicals.
Why did acting have such an impact on me? What is it about it? It’s an ephemeral event.
You get up onstage for a few hours a few times in your life, say some lines, hope people enjoy
them, and go back to your normal life. So what? Well, let me tell you, talking in front of a group
of people, no matter how large or small, is absolutely terrifying for an anxious person. But doing
it over and over again adds a thrill to the anxiety…which starts to take away its power. If you’re
enjoying something that gives you anxiety, then why should it give you so much anxiety in the
first place?
One of the greatest experiences of my life was acting in a play called Puffs last year. I met one of
my best friends and strengthened my bond with another through it. Puffs was a Harry Potter
parody that focused on the universally acknowledged underdogs of Hogwarts, the Hufflepuffs.
They’re the house that’s known solely for their loyalty and penchant for hard work…in a school
where another house has a serpent for a mascot and most of their alumni are murderers. I don’t
think I need to say much else. But back to reality, my two friends from Puffs also struggle with
anxiety, just like me. And yet we all had an amazing time and thrived in our roles. It wasn’t an
instantaneous success- there were hiccups in our performances, and sometimes we let anxiety get
the best of us. But we enjoyed the cathartic experience of embracing our nerdiness and shouting
it out for the world to see so much that it didn’t matter, really. Acting does something to you.
There’s a higher power in it.
Acting is being who you want to be, putting aside your anxiety and fears. Are you a quiet
person? Are you intimidated by others? Do you have nervous tics like picking at your nails and
pulling your hair? Do you say the wrong thing a lot? Doesn’t matter when you act. You’re not
you, you’re who you want to be. The specific character may not be your role model, sure. But no
matter what, they always, always know what to say. That’s something that everyone wants, and
acting can help you achieve something close to it. Not always knowing what to say, but being
confident even when you don’t know exactly what to say. It certainly helped this nerdy kid with
that.
