Jeni’s Design Diary

One thing that really stuck with me form Rhonda Layton’s Learn to be an Interior Designer, was her advice for students to take acting classes. I whole-heartedly agree, and was lucky enough to take a few of those courses in college.

Theatre can (if you let it) teach you a lot of useful lessons; including ones that relate to interior design. They mostly fall in the realm of presentation.

As we all know, when you meet with a future employer, a client, or business contact your appearance is extremely important. But your appearance is made up by more than just your attire. Theatre can help you gain confidence, knowledge of the importance of costumes, vocal control, and ability to tell the story in a compelling way, among many other things. All of which help create a complete presentation of yourself and your abilities.

Probably the most beneficial lesson I learned was the ability to portray an attitude I was not currently part of my reality. It should be obvious that you would not want to portray poor attitudes in front of important people; they can tell your mood. That is, unless you are good at acting.