Adam Cohen '15

Speaker: Adam Cohen '15

Adam Cohen '15: Hi first off thank you for the opportunity to make this video. Shout out to my WT fam. Go Bears! Um So I would say the WT Performing Arts department has absolutely changed my life. When I was in high school I was honestly really shy. It was hard for me to kind of speak my mind and I didn't have that many friends, I had a few close friends but you know I wasn't I wasn't that social. And so when I tried out for the One Act Plays, I really didn't expect to be given a part by Mrs Holmes. But she saw something in me and that was one of the really really cool things about Mrs Holmes was she was just somebody that always kind of saw the best in you and kind of pushed you to do what she knew you were capable of. So in my case I found that I absolutely loved acting and it really helped me to find my voice both on and off the stage. I ended up doing the play and the musical that year and getting parts in all of them. And it just really really helped me to learn how to express myself and how to how to kind of carry myself with a sense of confidence. And I brought that with me into my adult life. But that was just one of the talents of Mrs Holmes. She really really could help you to find yourself in the best way possible and I couldn't have done that without the help of the WT Performing Arts department. So thank you for letting me make this video and Go Bears.

Adam Cohen '15: So I was not a dancer at all, I had absolutely no talent. First off, I didn't know how to sing, and I didn't know how to dance, and during, in the musical I was given a part that was a singing and dancing role. So Mrs Holmes worked a lot with me, really just teaching me even the most basic scales and harmonies and especially how to dance, and when it kind of became clear that I wasn't really 100% getting it by, let's say, like a few weeks before our show, she said, okay, listen, let's have a Saturday practice, let's have a Saturday rehearsal, you guys come in, we work on the steps, we feel comfortable and then we get it. And that was just kind of the kind of woman that she was, was, she was somebody that was willing to sacrifice her weekend to make sure that we kind of could get something and in the end, "Anyone Can Whistle" it turned out really, really, really beautiful, I think. But it wouldn't have if I was kind of left at the helm to my own dancing devices to this day, kind of a mess, but, you know, she made me all the better, so that's that's probably one of my favorite memories of spending that Saturday with her

Adam Cohen '15: I think that acting is all about just sort of letting yourself go and just being comfortable saying listen I can do this, I am confident I am able to act and that is a skill that is absolutely essential on and off stage. So I obviously I haven't I haven't kept acting in my adult life but I think it was probably the most important skill that I ever learned at Winchester and I'm not saying that I think I think my education at Winchester was amazing. But just the ability to speak confidently and to kind of carry myself with that sense of "I belong here." I bring something to this room is a skill that I learned as an actor and sometimes you know the idea of "fake it till you make it" fake it until you make it. That is absolutely essential in today's world and that is acting, that is acting. So that's the skill that I think I learned.