It’s a broad question with a lot of potential, even life-changing, answers. Theatre has struck each of us so directly, so intensely, that we wondered how could you could give just one answer. But, we wanted to try.
So we went out to you – our actors, our playwrights, our directors, our theatre family – and asked the question. And indeed, you had answers. Beautiful, strong, moving answers.
5 comments:
I personally connect with a lot of the response to the question, ‘What has theatre taught me?’, and I think that I might like to add a few, or at least take the ideas of those outlined in the article and add my take on them. To me, theatre is all about a group of people coming together and creating a really cool, amazing thing that speaks to people. Now don’t get me wrong, doing cool things isn’t the point of theatre, but it’s an important component. Theatre is about getting out a message in an interesting, thought provoking, and potentially exciting way. To me, theatre is a conduit, just as any art is, to light a spark in a person and get them to think about their life and how they fit in the world. As a person who often times struggles with group work, I think that my experience in theatre has, and continues, to teach me how not to be an asshole about things (something I have far from conquered). Theatre has taught me that any idea is worth hearing and considering, that the scientific method works for art as well. Theatre has taught me that socratic reasoning and debate are applicable to almost any situation. Theatre has taught me that brilliant solutions can come from bizarre problems, and that finding a better way to do things, no matter what the thing is, should always be a goal. Above all, theatre has taught me that all of these things that apply to theatre can apply in almost any other context as long as you put them there. Theatre has a wonderful way of involving itself in many other aspects of society and culture, and the way I think when trying to address a problem in the theatre can carry to the way I think and carry myself as a person when I’m not in a theatre. And as much as I hate to admit it, or rather, as much of a frustrating process as it is, CMU Drama is teaching me this lesson pretty damn well. Now all I have to do is try and get as much from it as I can.
I’ve struggled a lot with my decision to pursue theater as a career. It’s not a stable income/industry and it takes a lot out of it practitioners. I’ve wondered about the choices that brought me to this place and the lessons I’ve learned from the mistakes. Reading through these responses I realize that everyone has their doubts in one way or another, whether or not they choose to admit it. People have to make mistakes to learn from them. Not saying that theater is a mistake, make the choice to stay in this career path is simply one decision in a long chain of ones that have been and have yet to be made. I think that’s what theater had taught me: Mistakes are the point, make them, learn and move on. We make shows that fail and we learn from those failures. We make design choses that don’t always work. The name of the game is revisions and I think that as theater practitioners the sooner we let go of the strive for perfection and accept that we need to mess up to find advancement, not only will we be happier, but our work will be greater.
I agree with all of the people surveyed on what theatre means to them. Theatre is an extremely special way of life. Theatre means the world to me. It has taught me so much about myself and about life. Working with others is a huge part of life in any career and I think theatre has taught me how to work with anyone no matter how difficult they may be. Theatre has taught me to be more outgoing and comfortable with myself. I used to be very shy and not like talking to new people, but now it is not that much of a problem. I do not have a choice but to talk to other people and work with them so I might as well suck up my fear and do it. I love creating art and an experience for an audience that they will always remember. I do not know what my life would be like if I never started theatre.
Theatre having been started thousands of years ago has for many of us a very different meaning. but i think something in common, that i personally feel, is a way to tell amazing stories in an interesting way to generations of people all over the world. it is a place where people can meet, like a church, and go to shows and often find happiness in watching a performance. i think it is also about the connection we have to a live cast that allows us to have such unique experience, much different than film. to me theatre has a connection to family because my mom is a theatre director and has grown up acting. she is the one that focused me on art and allowed me to follow my dreams here. and thats the short answer.
I could not find a single lesson that I didn’t agree with and I think that is very profound and powerful. The fact that theater can have such a huge impact on so many people and do so much for people means a lot. Over the past year I have noticed my passion for theater is slowly going away and I find it all very heart breaking. I believe it stems from the fact that I am beginning to want to strive to create the best and most powerful pieces but the reality of it all is that it’s very expensive nowadays. I also unfortunately live in a time and place where theater isn’t a huge cultural value. I personally have the need to create work that speaks to people and causes them to take a second and think and not let time go by unnoticed. For the urge to do this comes from just the fact that I don’t always do this, but if I feel like I can get at least one person to do this than maybe I can too.
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