Many years ago, when I chose a theatre path, my father rejected this as a frivolous 'waste of time'. 'When are you going to get serious?' he would ask me. To him, a direction in business and marketing were the only serious options.
I struggled with this for many years. I would move from feeling utterly and profoundly grateful to often asking myself, 'what the hell were you thinking!?' I doubted myself and the choices I had made.
But as my journey in theatre deepened, I grew to understand how fortunate I am. Ultimately, theatre has enriched my life and offered me insights into myself and the world that I cannot imagine I could have found anywhere else.
Here are 5 ways theatre rocks!
* Theatre can transform us and society, not only through entertainment, but in the unique way that the medium can reflect and comment on our lives and the world.
* Theatre helps us transcends the default world and transports both performer and audience into the magical realm of symbols, metaphor and imagination. Theatre reminds us we are alive!
* Theatre is a unique art as it depends on the immediacy of the physical form, the human body. Polish theatre maker Grotowski once described it, ‘…the closeness of the living organism.’ Theatre helps connects us to our humanity.
* Applied Theatre - an umbrella term that defines theatre in the practical application of theatre systems, exercises and principles in contexts beyond conventional stages - has the potential to educate, inspire, raise awareness, disrupt, connect, facilitate, enlighten, nurture and humanise the world.
* Theatre brings us closer to the holistic experience of the mind-body connection, in both audience and actor.
Shakespeare was right when he wrote, 'All the world's a stage.'
I hope you are enjoying the show!