Wednesday, April 27, 2016
The Art-Science Crossover or Lessons Learned by a Doctor/Playwright
HowlRound: Being a doctor/playwright is a bit like being a firewalker; everyone thinks you’re crazy, and they’re probably right. Some of my medical colleagues are not exactly theatre devotees. When I tell them about my passion for live performance, I get puzzled frowns. I’d probably get the same reaction if I was talking about Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.
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2 comments:
This is a really impressive project. I think theater is a really good way of communicating a message and making people think since people naturally latch on to narratives, and theater makes those narratives very real. A doctor using theater as a tool to promote a discussion about doctor patient relationships is very cool to me. I also think the take aways discussed in this article are interesting, more so because of the ways that theater can educate and engage, I’m not sure how I feel about the Mount Everest reason. To me, “because it is there” is a weak reason to do anything, especially when compared with powerful reasons like the way that theater can spread ideas and make people think about things they otherwise wouldn’t have. That being said, I’m really glad people felt like this project was important and put in the effort needed to make it a reality.
The crossover and inter disciplinary applicability of the arts and sciences is widely undervalued, and often overlooked due to the pervasiveness of classical left brain versus right brain ideologies. But the potential for symbiosis here is immense. As theater seeks to expand its boundaries it increasingly relies on the sciences to produce new mediums for exploration. For example, the integration of media into shows is one that finds its roots firmly grounded in science. And moreover, science gains a new audience, a new field to develop scientific applications for in theater. Though far from big pharma companies, and engineering magnates, theater is a field that is ripe for making technologically advanced. These two fields inform and shape each other more than we might ordinarily dare think. The enterprising play featured in this article highlights both the benefits and necessity of intermixing these fields in order to broaden perspectives and achieve untapped potentials.
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