Another great article for theater folk

Here is another article in support of theater. In this article, the author talks about how theatre aided in preparing for success not only in the arts, but also in life.

Why I have been so passionate about youth in theater

A few months ago, I was asked a few questions about why I have been so involved with youth theater for over twenty years. Here are some of my answers.
I guess why I have done this so long and for so many hours and sometimes even at cost to myself is because I believe in theater and I believe in young people. I believe in the power of both theater and youth to transform our world.

I believe that theater gives us an opportunity to put ourselves in another's shoes and see the world from another perspective. Theater allows us to question, to explore questions of what it means to be human, what it means to be good, what it means to love.

I believe that young people have the energy and the vision to take on the challenges of making the world a better place. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to John Andrew Holmes:

“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.”

I believe that young people care about the big questions and the hard questions. I feel that most places and people water things down for kids, thinking they are protecting kids. It's not helpful for a teen struggling with depression to be misled that everything is always sunshine or always should be.

beginnings and endings

As the current chapter in my theater life draws to a close, and new chapters are waiting to be written (literally- written!) I reflect back on some of the beginnings.

Although I fell in love with theater earlier, my first on-stage experience didn't happen until I was a freshman in high school when I landed the lead role in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes". Incredible casting, since at that point I was not blonde, voluptuous or preferred- but to be fair, my romantic lead was nothing like a gentleman, either.

It was an odd beginning for the woman and theater artist I have become: "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" is a fluffy little comedy about sex appeal being the way to get a man; about a woman's assets being her- well, physical, not spiritual or mental, attributes.

One of the girls in the cast, a senior, tried to teach me how to walk with a wiggle in my non-existent hips.

The theater department found a blond wig for me.

I was costumed in red satin "flapper style" dresses, though I had nothing whatever to flap.

For the woman I am now- a believer in the complexity and depth of all human beings, a devotee of Shakespeare and others who explore the infinite variety and diversity of the human experience- it was, to say the least, an incongruous place to start.


But.

I made them laugh, and I was hooked.

Why do theatre?

I believe that theatre has the power to transform lives. It certainly transformed my life. Theatre's power comes from its immediacy and its vital human connection. There is intimacy and relevancy in sharing the human story through theatre.

In my research as I teach and learn, I found this wonderful video that captures much of what I believe theatre can do. The video can be found at http://www.ted.com/talks/patsy_rodenburg_why_i_do_theater.html