The Book of Everything follows the simple life of nine-year-old Thomas Klopper as he goes about his life. At first, everything seems normal, Thomas talks about his family what foods he likes, and the hobbies he likes to do. Later, it is revealed that Thomas's life isn't normal as his dad is abusive. He takes the pain but he can not handle watching his mom get hurt. He meets a nice old witch living next door who shows him that anything is possible with a little bit of reading. He begins to read hesitantly as his father has always condoned reading any book but the bible as it will "corrupt" his brain and turn him into a monster of this world. As time goes on he becomes more confident in his reading and realizes the strongest lesson of all, happiness begins with not being afraid anymore. He goes home to his parents to set up for a reading-out-loud party in which he shows his father that nothing he says scares him anymore and that is what makes him happy.

​

His journey to happiness resonated with my childhood as that was a journey I had to embark yet it took me so long to achieve. However, the power that this nine-year-old had in standing up for himself and his family through the catalyst which was the witch from next door and reading influenced me in doing this play. I admire not only the strength that Thomas had but the strength that they all had. The story ends on a cliffhanger because we never get to see if Thomas won in changing his father however in this story I believe that Thomas had such an impact on everyone that I think he was able to change his father and live his happiness through him. 

​

I will say the first obstacle that I ran into when auditioning was my fear of not performing as well as I should have with the circumstances that were at stake. My first fear when auditioning was not looking the part, this fear I have had for many shows as I never truly know if I would get the part since aesthetically there are better choices. This fear I also ran into this when auditioning for Into the Woods so I knew how to handle myself by not worrying so much about how I looked but about the power in which I held with acting. The second obstacle I ran into was my commitment to the club, at the time I was not only a member of the theater but I was also a member of the orchestra. I had a rehearsal on the same day of auditions and I couldn't choose between both, however, I inevitably chose theater over orchestra giving the directors what I felt they were looking for in my last auditions.

​

During the process, I began by meditating on the seriousness of the role because I had not acted a serious role since skeleton stories making it hard for me to get back into where my acting originated from which was method acting. I will say that this wasn't the only obstacle I ran into as this production was double-cast. I will say that at first it wasn't the best, our rehearsal times were being split in half and I felt like I wasn't doing enough making it hard for me to focus when I needed to. I also felt very left out of the production as the promotions were all spotlighting the other cast. However as time went on things shifted focus and I found myself liking the product, I think that the lack of set and costume pieces contributed to my depression I found myself in acting since I never truly felt like the process had an ending and I felt that the process would go on forever practicing my patience.

​

I will admit that another obstacle I faced during the process was insecurity, I felt that I had a lot of big feelings over the topics of my representation and I feared that people were beginning to see me as egotistic. This fear decreased my acting skills as I tried to suppress my feelings constantly and it distanced myself not only from my colleagues but my directors as well, as I felt that they viewed me the same way. In a moment like this I didn't know who to turn to however in a dim situation usually comes a solution and a friend. I found myself able to talk about my feelings and how others viewed me and I learned probably one of the most important lessons for an actor which is that I can't worry about how everyone views me. 

​

In this show in particular I chose to take a break from costumes and learn more about the technical side of a show, the good thing was that the show was double casted giving me the ability to learn and run a show on lights. I learned how to accurately use a light board and how to properly set up cube lights.

​

Overall this show holds a sentimental place in my heart as it taught me many valuable things like what to do in a situation where I don't fit in but also the ability to withstand any criticism good or bad. This show taught me some very valuable life lessons but also lessons that can be used in the acting world, I can't let a little criticism whether it be negative or false news affect me so much in my ability to act as it lessens me not only as an actor but as a person as well. I believe that this show was trying to tell me something even from the beginning, "happiness begins with not being afraid anymore."