Why is theatre important to you?

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Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:42am

How does it contribute to the world? What makes you go to that Broadway show every other week? Because it's entertaining? Because you fall in love with the characters each time? What makes you spend all that money on that overpriced ticket? To support the actors?

What role does theatre play in the world and to you? Besides the fact that it's a timeless form of media and the world can't possibly just get rid of it, what's keeping it alive?

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re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:52am

I love theatre. It keeps me going. It is the thing I have that not everyone in the world has. It makes me special. If I did not have theatre, I would cease to have any distinction in this world. Theatre is what I am. It's what I do.

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:55am

i have no idea why i love theatre so much ... i just do

RIP glebby <3

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:56am

This sounds like a question I would ask my kids during a workshop.

"Gather 'round the circle...time for deep discussion!"

Bravo, Aigoo for trying to stimulate conversation in such an effective and positive manner.

(Not intended to thread-jack. Continue as you were...)

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:11am

Because when it's great...when the book, score, direction, performances and the design all work together there is just nothing like it.

And it's live...it happens just that one time when you see it. Another night it's different. Maybe better, maybe worse but never exactly the same. And that makes it special.

Cast albums are NOT "soundtracks."
Live theatre does not use a "soundtrack." If it did, it wouldn't be live theatre!

I host a weekly one-hour radio program featuring cast album selections as well as songs by cabaret, jazz and theatre artists. The program, FRONT ROW CENTRE is heard Sundays 9 to 10 am and also Saturdays from 8 to 9 am (eastern times) on www.proudfm.com

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:18am

Tch. Matthew, shame for not answering my question. But thank you for noticing my valiant attempt. But then again, I suppose I didn't answer my own question. Shame on me.

Theatre is important to me because, to sound cliché, it allows me to express myself that I cannot normally do in everyday life. In live theatre, you play a completely different person, different feelings, different thoughts, a whole different life. To me, those are the couple of moments that you're allowed to escape from your own life. If something is going wrong that you're unhappy with at the moment, you can just put it off for those mere seconds and live in another reality. And this time, you know how the ending works out. It gives you power over said reality because you know how your persona's story will end. Granted, it won't always end on a happier note, but there is no more wondering. Personally, I hate wondering about my future: how I'm going to end up, what college I'll go to, if I'll be successful in life or not...There is no way that I could have any control over that. But when you're in theatre, when you're performing, you have power over elements that you cannot control in real life.

Another expression that theatre allows is that it gives me such great power: the power to change how someone feels. The way that I deliver one line, it can make an audience member laugh, cry, have a shivering fit, hold down a temper, really, anything that is in the library of human emotion. I have the ability to manipulate how someone feels that very moment I say a sentence. Live theatre gives me the power to send emotional waves through someone’s mind by a simple hand gesture I may do. I love the opportunity of being able to do that. That, and the applause that awaits you afterward. That exhilarating, short moment where hundreds of people all compliment you the same way: Thank you for your performance. It was truly great.

And that, BWW, is why theatre is important to me.

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Updated On: 6/25/05 at 04:18 AM

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:21am

That..*choke*..was...*cough*...beautiful. Thank you.

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:24am

::bows::

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re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 8:26am

Its a very good question. Theatre allows escape from the troubles of real life. It encourages thought and challenges you to see life in a different way. It can lift you up when you're at your lowest point in life and it can cause you to look inside yourself and challenge your belief system. If you're a performer, it forces you to use every part of the wonderful instruments God gave you - all the great talents that a human is capable of expressing. And it can be just plain fun.

"I don't really get the ending,all i can go with is when after several months,Judith saw Pat sang,and later she kissed him on the toilet,after that the story back to where Pat went down from the stage after he'd sung,and he went to the italian lady.I just don't get it,what Judith exatcly meant when he kissed Pat that she had seen,and did Pat end up together with The Italian Lady?Please help me,thank u very much!" Quote from someone on IMDB in reference to a movie he/she didn't understand. Such grammar!

#10

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:40am

I agree with cturtle. Ever since I saw The Producers a few years back (I had seen Broadway shows before then), I immediately fell in love with the theater and just didn't know why. No one else in my family has the same feelings. I'm also a big movie and TV guy, so I love entertainment and things that (as redhotinnyc said) "allows escape from the troubles of real life". To me, theatre's the best form of entertainment. Why? Because you're there. Anything can happen, you're interested and you're right where the entertainment's taking place. That's why its important to me, I guess.

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#11

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:40am

Double-post. Perfect way to ruin my speech.

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Updated On: 6/25/05 at 09:40 AM

#12

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 9:56am

I love theatre and always will. I love the rush I get when the house lights lower, and the overture starts. It has always been something I have loved. Once I stopped acting professionally, my love for seeing theatre rose hugely.

"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."
To Kill A Mockingbird

#13

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 10:01am

I wrote an entire paper on this very subject for Northwestern U. Aigoo...IM me later, and I'll send it to you...

awkward.

"I think it was the Korean tour or something. They were all frickin' asian!" -Zoran912

#14

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 10:07am

redhotinnyc2 expressed it so eloquently. Ditto!

"I'm learning to dig deep down inside and find the truth within myself and put that out. I think what we identify with in popular music more than anything else is when someone just shares a truth that we can relate to. That's what I'm searching for in my music." - Ron Bohmer

"I broke the boundaries. It wasn't cool to be in plays- especially if you were in sports & I was in both." - Ashton Kutcher

#15

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 10:32am

For me, theater is my escape from the world. When I go to see a Broadway show I get to leave my crazy little world for a couple hours and just sit and not have any worrys. You can put all your responsibilites aside for a while and just let the words and music take over you.It's the same for being on stage, I think too. When I'm doing a show I'm not worrying about myself at all. My thoughts stay completely fixuated on making sure the people in the audience can escape for a little while. *sigh* Oh theater. How I love you. If one could give theater a hug I so would. (Next time I'm walking near the Shubert, I'm just going to run up to the building and hug it.)

"Mrrraaaawwww!" ♥

#16

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 2:12pm

Bump

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#17

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 2:25pm

Why Theatre is Important to Me

by FindingNamo

Theatre is important to me because it is interesting. While a young girl, my beloved Aunt took me to see Your Arm's Too Short to Box with God, and that show changed my life, to say the least. I knew at that time that I wanted to grow up to do what those women on stage were doing.

Later, my funny uncle took me to see "...for colored girls who considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf." Since then Ntzoake Shange has been an inspiration to me and I have her framed photo on my wall.

In conclusion, theatre is important to me because it is interesting and because it made me what I am today: a highly successful choreopoet.

Twitter @NamoInExile Instagram none

#18

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 2:45pm

to demonstrate i shall tell a story:
not so long ago...
i was having dinner with a girlfriend of mine and we were about to see Spelling Bee. through the conversation, my recent breakup with my boyfriend came up (he broke up w/ me) and she told me that she had found out that while in puerto rico he had been fooling around with other girls. this made me very upset, i felt like vomiting. we went to the show- i wanted to go home. the opening scenes started, and as i became completely enraptured in the show all my troubles went away. shows are very powerful. theater is an escape. words impact our lives, and music is an artistic medium that strikes the innermost heart strings. it can also teach us about life, and about ourselves. connecting with the protagonist in a theatrical production teaches me more about myself, because its almost as if i am taking a step back and watching myself (have you ever had that experience?)

you may know what you need but to get what you want better see that you keep what you have

#19

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:03pm

These are my responses for the Northwestern University National High School Institute, design/tech concentration:

Why is theatre important to the world:

Theatre is important to the world for more reasons than one. The most apparent reason would be purely for entertainment. Theatre transfers an audience to a completely different world, which is what makes it so magical. In today's society, that is extremely crucial. Theatre relates one person to another, including individuals from different cultures, sexes, races, sexual orientations, etc. Theatrical productions have made and still are making advancements in human rights and other necessary changes in the world. A world without theatre would not be the world humans are familiar with today.

Why is theatre important to you?

Similar to the way theatre is important to the world, theatre is important to me for many reasons. I consider the most important reason to be the way it transports me out of the stressful world in which I live. I might not act onstage as much as I used to, but no matter what I am doing in a theatre, my mind is completely focused on it. Theatre has changed my life. Theatre is my life. As a child, I was miserable participating in athletics. The day I discovered theatre, I knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It makes me happy and puts joy in my heart. I help create part of the magic the audience views. Whether it makes them smile, cry, laugh, or silences them, I know I assisted in evoking these emotions. While the Tony award is a nice career accomplishment, the day my work in a production changes someone's life like the first production I saw changed mine, I will have reached my goal.

CCM '10!

#20

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Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:17pm

Avatar - Isaac, my blue-fronted Amazon parrot. Adopted 9/7/07. Age 30 (my pet is older than me!)

Updated On: 2/7/06 at 03:17 PM

#21

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Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:17pm

Avatar - Isaac, my blue-fronted Amazon parrot. Adopted 9/7/07. Age 30 (my pet is older than me!)

Updated On: 2/7/06 at 03:17 PM

#22

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 3:52pm

Great question for the day, Aigoo!

My reasons:

1. In my community, there are many kids my age that follow the crowd...they like rap and Usher and all that jazz. But, with me liking theatre, I feel different and unique.
2. I have met a lot of new people, many of them becoming my closest friends. It helps me overcome my shyness, which I rarely have nowadays.
3. It's fun! Just to be on stage for five minutes feels exciting.

What the puck?!

#23

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:00pm

Originally, it certainly started out as something I just loved. I can't really explain why without sounding cliche, and talking about how magical it is, etc. I was one of those people who had that kind of moment when I saw my first show as a really young child, and was hooked. It wasn't until pretty recently, though, that I wanted it to become any more than just something I did for fun.

Aside from it sort of being an escape/means of entertainment/etc, and just making me really happy, it's been a way for me to connect with and meet people who are some of the most wonderful people I could ever hope to have in my life. Loving theatre is one of the strongest bonds between many of my closest friends and I, and being absorbed into the community has allowed me to form friendships that I hope will be part of my life for a very, very long time. And as of a rather recent date, I'm getting my first taste of working in the theatre community. I don't know that I've ever been happier, to be surrounded constantly but what I love, and by people with whom I have that in common.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

#24

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:01pm

Because musical theatre kids at my school are nice? No, not just that.
Because I relate to the music more than I relate to the rap and such that's so popular now? No, not just that,
Because I can combine both my passions of acting and singing? Not just that, but close.
Because I have found so many great people in this community that I would have never met otherwise? Not just that and I love you, Lael, dearie.
Because of all the beautiful people (men and women) that are so talented? Not just that.
Because they accept me just the way I am, geekiness and all? Not just that.

Oh, I know...it's because of all of that. It's because I can feel accepted and unique.

1. Ted Allen: Everyone has an interesting life if you ask the right questions.
2. Great buckets of Spoffnor, they're going to sing!
3. "I love shrubs that are historical." -Johnny and The Sprites
4. "We're not singing it to you, we're singing it for us." -Rosario Dawson, about La Vie Boheme
5. "The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours." -The History Boys
6. "Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That's the game I want you to learn. Pass it on." -The History Boys

#25

re: Why is theatre important to you?

Posted: 6/25/05 at 4:17pm

To quote a couple of other posters: "Theatre allows escape from the troubles of real life. It encourages thought and challenges you to see life in a different way. It can lift you up when you're at your lowest point in life and it can cause you to look inside yourself and challenge your belief system...And it can be just plain fun." "For me, theater is my escape from the world. When I go to see a Broadway show I get to leave my crazy little world for a couple hours and just sit and not have any worries. You can put all your responsibilites aside for a while and just let the words and music take over you."

I agree with those- I have a lot of bad stuff going on in my life, and theater is an escape from all the pain and trouble in my life, even if it's just for a couple hours. That's why I see a few shows every week, it just makes me happy.

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