Thursday, July 14, 2005
Take Me Anywhere
What is the difference between good theatre and deadly theatre?
Deadly theatre never lets you forget that you're sitting in a theater with poor air conditioning, in uncomfortable seats watching actors say words and move where their supposed to. Good theatre doesn't apologize for the seats or the artifice, but instead takes your hand and takes you on a brief, hopefully amazing, trip.
The best theatre transforms an empty cavern with throngs of onlookers into a vehicle of communal transformation. We stop thinking about the seats and the temperature and start wondering what next. We aren't furtively watching for the next tremor in the veil of illusion. Instead, we are asked by the actors to join them in a world that is equal parts reality and our imaginations. We all travel to a mutual place of play.
With some down time, I've got the chance to see more theatre and recharge physically and imaginatively. Each time I purchase a ticket I'm hoping that it is a passport to somewhere remarkable.
Deadly theatre never lets you forget that you're sitting in a theater with poor air conditioning, in uncomfortable seats watching actors say words and move where their supposed to. Good theatre doesn't apologize for the seats or the artifice, but instead takes your hand and takes you on a brief, hopefully amazing, trip.
The best theatre transforms an empty cavern with throngs of onlookers into a vehicle of communal transformation. We stop thinking about the seats and the temperature and start wondering what next. We aren't furtively watching for the next tremor in the veil of illusion. Instead, we are asked by the actors to join them in a world that is equal parts reality and our imaginations. We all travel to a mutual place of play.
With some down time, I've got the chance to see more theatre and recharge physically and imaginatively. Each time I purchase a ticket I'm hoping that it is a passport to somewhere remarkable.
