Theater for the mind, body, and soul

"WHY THEATER?!"

I thought about that question from both a performer's and and audience member's perspective. Why do I make theater? I would like to say that I perform to inspire others or to make people think, but I can't take too much credit for that. It's the writer's privelage, to create a story or a piece that actors can connect with and in turn be the vessel through which the story is conveyed.

I think a better question might be "why do I go to the theater?" Probably because my life is too darn boring so I need someone else's experiences to justify my faith in the human race. wow that sounds way too depressing. Trust me it's not! I think that that's why most people go to the theater, to bear witness to someone else's drama and not feel that their own is too much.

People desperately need the theater. It's the best way to take a break from their lives. Looking at human nature from afar is inspiring. and you learn from others' mistakes, even though they aren't real. For example, greek tragedies. Sure that's gross hearing about some guy who slept with his mother. But what do you learn from it? "Don't make rash decisions and think before you act". A pretty good message I might say.

I know this sounds ridiculous and it isn't theater but it's clooose. I loved the movie WALL-E. Stay with me i think it's a good example!! Without being preachy, WALL-E taught humans a lesson in loving mother nature while enjoying a heartwarming story about robot love. i think WALL-E was a wonderful balance of entertainment and lessons. If we're talking about art as comfort food: WALL-E was a well balanced and tasty meal.