Theater-going is the new working out. Instead of making New Year’s resolutions to get fit, UCLA students want to start taking advantage of the many entertainment opportunities LA has to offer.
“It’s not every day that you get to live in a city like L.A.,” said fourth-year political science student Amanda Rizkallah. “I would really like to say that … I really experienced (L.A.) and that I got to see all sides of it.”
However, like exercising, setting aside time to experience the arts requires some sacrifices. As UCLA students are notoriously overcommitted, finding the time amid busy schedules to go out in Los Angeles may be daunting.
“I start to freak out, and the next thing you know I can’t even go to dinner,” said Mariel Martinez, a second-year English student who also wants to become more involved in cultural events. “If anything it makes me more stressed and makes me do worse in classes when I can’t take the time to just have fun and relax.”
Other issues that plague UCLA students’ cultural involvement include lack of transportation and finances. Even with the L.A. bus system, third-year psychology student Anya Rosensteel said it’s difficult to take advantage of events outside the Westwood area.
“If you want to go to a concert downtown, it’s hard to go through the bus schedule because some of the buses don’t run as late at night,” Rosensteel said. “So you’d have to get a taxi home, and it might be a sketchy part of town, so you don’t want to be there at night.”
Psychologist and UCLA family medicine Professor Bob Maurer believes that there are ways to overcome these obstacles, though they may take time.
Maurer is the author of the book, “One Step Can Change Your Life,” and he claims making miniscule changes in one’s daily routine will eventually result in the desired end.
“Somebody who thinks they should be attending more of the many cultural events that Los Angeles offers may have 10 excuses why they can’t get there: they don’t have the time, they can’t get there, traffic,” Maurer said. “But they could read the (Los Angeles Times) Calendar section, other than movies, for five minutes a day just so that they’re learning more about what’s available.”
Maurer claims that these small steps, such as reading the newspaper, must be taken every day in order for the ultimate goal to be achieved.
“As any student knows, in order to memorize something you have to repeat it several times. So you’re better off doing something one minute a day than once a week for an hour,” he said. “By making very small steps, it’s almost like you’re programming the brain for what you want it to do and it makes the big leaps itself.”
However, for graduating seniors like Rizkallah, time is of the essence. She plans to purchase an L.A. guidebook to make the most of her remaining time in Los Angeles.
“It really wasn’t possible for me to dedicate that much time to it, and that’s why I’m really excited about making it a priority this winter and especially in the spring,” she said. “But I don’t regret it because I really got to experience Westwood and spend time with friends and other things that are very much a part of college.”
Whether graduating or only beginning the college experience, Maurer believes that on-campus events are good places to start an active involvement in the arts.
“If somebody’s going to a theater downtown, they’re going to have to drive for 45 minutes, they’re going to pay $45, (and) they’re going to pay $8 for parking. It takes a lot of motivation,” Maurer said. “They ought to start on campus because there’s theater and dance and sculpture. All the art forms that are available in the community, that they have legitimate reasons not to use, are (also) available on campus.”
Rosensteel agreed and said she finds that the number of events available on campus resolves the transportation problem. With the number of free events and student discounts, it’s easy to work around a student’s pocketbook. For example, Rosensteel saw the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of “King Lear” for only $15.
“If you see a link on a Web site, or someone sends you an e-mail, or actually pay attention to Campus Events’ stuff,” Rosensteel said of her strategy for her coveted purchase. “You do have to dig a little bit, (but) if you look, there’s a lot of stuff out there.”
Even with student prices, however, the cost does add up. Martinez hopes to make compromises in order to fulfill her goal of attending more performances.
“Maybe it will cost more to go to that one concert than to go to that one dinner, but I just won’t go to as many other little things that add up and save that money (for something) that I will enjoy a lot more and make a memory of,” she said.
And for Martinez, these compromises will be more than worthwhile.
“I’ve come to the point where I’m like “˜I don’t want to waste my time anymore in one of the greatest cities with the greatest entertainment opportunities,'” she said. “It’s now or never.”