Emily's Epiphanies

     When I saw that Snapchat was the subject of Chapter 7 in Essentials for Social Media, I was very surprised. I really only use Snapchat now to stay in touch with friends in a group chat. When I first started using Snapchat, it was only a picture-sending site. There was no chat feature, there was nothing other than sending pictures that would disappear after a few seconds. I got Snapchat because all of my friends in middle school were begging me to and told me how much fun it was to play around with filters and post on your “story”. That was my first introduction to Snapchat.      However, I never would have expected to be reading a chapter on how to market through Snapchat. With pictures that disappear after a few seconds, how would you get anything across to an audience? But now that I think about it, the ads added in between Snapchat stories are a great way to advertise. Also, celebrities and other groups have Snap stories that you can join to see what they are doing. It is a for

     This weekend was the start of tech rehearsals for Beauty and the Beast – which opens this Saturday at 7:30pm! As the stage manager for this production, I am now at the peak of my job for this production. I ran rehearsals on Sunday and Monday for Q2Q, which is where we go through the show piece by piece so I can practice calling the cues for the crew and board operators. These rehearsals are typically very slow for cast members and, it was no different for this show.      Yesterday evening, the entire cast had off to rest their voices and prepare for runs of the show on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The crew was also allowed to have the night off. The purpose of yesterday evening was to let designers and technical teams finish the brunt of their work before moving into the rest of the week. I came to rehearsal to work on my calling book and, I got to practice calling some big transitions with the orchestra. Calling the show has been pretty intimidating, especially since I have n

     In Chapter 6 of Essentials for Social Media Marketing , we learned about Twitter and how it works. I have never used Twitter before – I always found it too intimidating. However, now looking at the set-up of Twitter – it does not seem all that different from the other forms of social media that I am familiar with.      Looking at the formatting of Twitter and the Components of a Twitter Post section, I find that I am thinking about the similarities between many social media platforms as they take ideas and details from one another and build them into their own platforms. For example, I always thought that Twitter was only a site for sharing short, text-based posts. Now, reading through the chapter, I have learned that you can add videos and pictures to a Twitter post. Facebook and Instagram have very similar platforms now, with Stories, Direct Messaging, and, Posting Photos/Videos. I guess the similarities between Facebook and Instagram especially make sense because they are now

     In the midst of stress from classes, stage management, and other responsibilities, I have found a few nuggets of happiness this past week that I brought some sunshine back into my day.      My family and I are very close, as I mentioned in my blog post on homesickness. This weekend, they were all spending time together at my house and Face Timed me when I was out of rehearsal. Being included in family time even when I am so far away has really helped to lift my spirits. I also know that I always have my family to lean on in difficult times, no matter how far apart we are.      Another nugget of happiness I received this week was a care package from my parents and a card from my Nanna. They all know how stressful the last few weeks have been and will continue to be until mid-October, so they surprised me with a big, decorated gift box filled with lots of snacks and goodies. My mom said she wanted the theme of my first care package to be “yellow”. I really needed some extra yellow a

     Similarly to Facebook, which we looked at in the last chapter of Essentials of Social Media Marketing , I am familiar with Instagram and how it works. The only two social media sites that I check regularly and update often are Facebook and Instagram.      My Instagram following is not all that big, as I am a private account and try not to accept follow requests from people I don’t know. I will likely start a page for my theatre arts professional marketing in the future, but for now, I only want to share my posts and experiences with people whom I know and care about,   who feel them same about me in return. Social media in the personal part of my life is about sharing experiences with friends and family who I may not be able to see all of the time or sharing/appreciating my friends and other things I find important. For example, I really only use my Instagram Stories to post about my friend’s birthdays, college reveals, sharing special events, or other posts that I think are impor

     The past two weeks have been crazy busy in Beauty and the Beast rehearsals here at ONU! Last week we blocked all of Act I and this week we have started on Act II. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please go to https://www.onu.edu/freed and take a look!      I have so many notes in so many different places – I definitely need to get everything organized this weekend before we start our week of show run-throughs. I am realizing that it is hard to maintain the lifestyle I typically follow when I am taking class, working at the costume shop for a few hours each week, and stage managing our fall show. I am usually very organized: I make my bed every morning, I wash dishes as soon as I finish using them, I put all of my papers in the correct folders/binders, and I always take notes in places that are labeled with what they include. Unfortunately, these past few weeks I have had to wake up in the mornings to get some last-minute homework done and I don’t always have time to m

          Chapter 4 in Essentials of Social Media Marketing was all about promoting yourself and your company on Facebook. I may be the oddball in my generation who checks Facebook daily. My parents and my relatives use Facebook as their sole form of social media, so I enjoy seeing what they have been doing recently. My family also tags me in all of their posts, even if I am not in the picture, so that I get a notification. I also believe Facebook is relatively easy to navigate. Instagram and other platforms are constantly changing, but Facebook rarely has any updates that change how you use and navigate it.      Looking at the chapter, I realized that I know a lot of people in the theatre who have personal accounts as well as pages to promote their work. Someone I knew from a theatre camp in high school has already played an extra in a short film and has a page on Facebook to show everything that she has been working on. I have never done anything like that for myself, but it is good

     More often than not, this blog will discuss my experiences as a stage manager and performer. However, I thought I’d touch on something else this week. Homesickness.      My favorite people in the whole world are my family. My parents are the people I am closest to. We call each other once a day, if not more. My brother is the clown of our house and is always sending me memes about math or history – not that I really understand all of them, but they still make me laugh. My Nanna and I talk less often, but when we do it is always a great conversation that leaves me smiling. My puppy Gracie – she’s five years old, but she will always be a puppy to me – is a huge light in my life and leaving her to come to ONU is always difficult. These four people (and one dog!) make up my home and my heart. The hardest part of leaving home – which for me is in Baltimore, MD – is saying goodbye to the people who matter most.      This semester’s goodbye was especially difficult. My brother is getting

     Reading through Chapter 3 in Essentials of Social Media Marketing, I cannot help but compare the tasks of a social media manager for an organization to the tasks I am experiencing now as a stage manager. There is so much work and “following” that goes into each job, which I am learning firsthand. For example, in Section 3 of Chapter 2, there is a long list of elements that need to be plotted out in a spreadsheet in order to continue making decisions and monitor the company’s social media presence. As a stage manager, I must do similar things in the rehearsal room, rather than online.      A social media manager is expected to gather information on “the social media networks the company is active on,” “whether or not the social media profiles are fully optimized,” and, “examples of great posts and content that is working well,” along with many other parts. As a stage manager, I am expected to gather information on blocking, technical aspects that need to be adjusted (i.e., props, s