I didn’t come to Berkeley thinking theater would become one of the most defining parts of my college experience. It started way earlier, as a middle school hobby, something fun, something expressive, something I just… kept doing. Even after I arrived at Berkeley, theater stayed in my life, but still just as a side thing.
When I first got to Berkeley, I joined a Chinese theater club called TInY. Every semester, we would put on a full production from directing, rehearsals, stage design, everything. It was chaotic, creative, and honestly some of the most fun I had on campus. But here’s the thing: even after doing all that, I hadn’t actually studied theater yet. I was doing theater… without really understanding how to do theater.
That changed completely in my third year. One day, when I was making schedules for my last year, I realized I still had space in my schedule to add a theater minor. I remember feeling weirdly excited, like I had just unlocked something I didn’t know was possible. Then, theater became one of my minors!!!
At Berkeley, the theater minor is super flexible. You can shape it around what you actually enjoy: acting, technical theater, or theater research. And for me? Based on my experiences in doing theater, I knew that I didn’t want the spotlight; I wanted to build the spotlight. I’ve always loved being behind the scenes, the quiet energy of making things happen without being seen. So I chose to focus on technical theater.
My very first class was a performance workshop focused on playwriting, Theater 14. And it was nothing like any other Berkeley class I had taken. There were no long lectures. No passive note-taking. Instead, we wrote our own scripts; we performed them in class; we gave each other feedback in real time. The classroom felt alive - like ideas were constantly moving, evolving, colliding. It wasn’t just learning. It was creating. That was the moment I realized: this is what I’ve been missing.
As I moved through the minor, the classes became even more hands-on. I took classes in scenic design and scene shop lab.
For scenic design, even though I had zero drawing experience, I found myself sketching full stage concepts. And somehow… it worked. And one of the coolest things we did? Building a Pepper’s Ghost illusion model, a classic stage trick that creates ghost-like visuals using reflection. It felt like mixing art, physics, and magic.
Then came the scene shop. This is where theater stopped being abstract and became physical. We didn’t just talk about props, we made them. We measured and designed from scratch, learned how to use woodshop tools, then cut, sanded, assembled and finally painted everything into realistic stage pieces. I still remember making a sword and shield set that looked like actual metal. But it was just wood, paint, and a lot of trial and error. There’s something insanely satisfying about turning raw materials into something that feels real on stage.
Now, in my final semester, I’m taking Theater 169, advanced technical theater. This class took everything to the next level as I’m now working in the scene shop on real productions, building props for our club’s show, and I joined my first official strike (taking down a professional production set)!
Through the TDPS (Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies) team, I got to see how things run professionally, fast-paced, precise, and collaborative. And honestly? I loved every second of it. There’s something about holding a screwdriver, building something piece by piece, and seeing it come alive on stage… it just hits differently.
What surprised me the most wasn’t just the classes, it was the people. The theater community at Berkeley is so passionate, so welcoming and so deeply committed to creating joy for others. Everyone is working on something: designing, rehearsing, building, performing. There’s this shared energy that makes you feel like you’re part of something bigger. No one is “too beginner,” and no one is “out of place.” You just show up and start making things.
If there’s one thing I wish I had done differently… I wish I had started earlier. Because theater at Berkeley isn’t just about performance. It’s about creativity, collaboration, and learning how to build something meaningful from nothing. And sometimes, the most magical part of theater… is everything that happens behind the curtain.