My Most Important Classes

When I was in high school, I remember choosing classes for the next semester, probably Junior Year. One I saw listed was Public Speaking.

"You should take that," my dad said. "It will serve you for life, and you're good at it."

I was at the age where I never wanted to admit he was right, and I didn't tell him he was right, but I did take it. I had already learned about giving speeches in my regular English classes as far back as grade school, so the concepts were familiar and the homework load would be light compared to other classes I had to take. That made it a solid choice, plus, as my dad said, I'd be learning something useful.

That year I also auditioned to be in the choir, which again was something I could do that wouldn't give me 3 more hours of homework to my load per night. And because of my exposure to the choir and the public speaking class, I was essentially drafted into acting and singing in one of the school plays, which I enjoyed so much I was compelled to take Drama my senior year and join Drama Club, where I did several plays as a member of cast and crew. I then went on to take Acting again in college, and worked on the student televeision stations in front of and behind the camera. I had no intention of being a professional actor, singer, or news anchor, but I had fun and learned a lot.

While I learned other life skills from other classes, Public Speaking, Choir, and Drama, gave me lessons I've used over and over and over again throughout life and my career. The lessons are simple, and can be applied to a variety of situations.

1. Have a reason to get up in the morning. In Drama and Chorus there's always the next show coming up that you have to prep for, or the show you want to be in. You can't be in a show or be ready for a show if you're in bed all day.

2. Look the part for the role. You could dramatically redefine what a given role looks like, as Dustin Hoffman did in "Death of a Salesman," where a short man played a role that was written with a larger-than-life character in mind. But most of the time there's a certain image of what a person looks like. A farmer does not dress like a basketball coach. A basketball coach does not dress like a plumber. A plumber does not dress like a stockbroker.

3. Know your lines. This doesn't mean you always have to know what you're going to say, though that's part of it. Knowing your lines means doing your homework, your prep. Be ready.

4. Improvise. You can't control every aspect of a situation. Some of the best live performances I've seen or been in involved the performers reacting to something unexpected, or adding to the material as they go. Some of the greatest performances, such as Denzel Washington's role in "Training Day," were largely improvised.

5. Fail With Dignity. Even the best actors and musicians have a bad night, a bad album, a bad film. The same is said of athletes, or of anyone. Sometimes you strike out. You got out there and tried. Learn from what you did and keep going.

6. Get up again. Last night you had a standing ovation. Great. Reward yourself by sleeping in a bit. Or, last night you drowned in flop sweat and cried yourself to sleep. Fine. Today is a new day. Get up early and get a jump on the next thing. There's another show to do.