All you need is LOVE...

Good theatre is powerful.  I'm not simply talking about an actor's performance, but a message that is communicated in a specific, provoking manner.  The direction of a piece that is clear and evokes the message in a visceral way.  The company involved with a work that is passionate about the cause.  Through our journey in Performance Theory class, that is a common theme among new movements and styles.  An artist or company was excited about a cause or message, and literally pushed the bounds and explored ways of performance to express those ideas. 

Maggie's personal story of the gang members storming the tour bus really made me stop and rethink some instances in my life where I could have spoken up or resisted a wrong.  What can be done in the face of genocide, terrorism, disaster, injustice? And is theatre the answer?  Yes and no. In the moment of such an experience we are shocked, terrified, justifying our "cop in the head", numb, or even insensitive to the circumstances and people around us.  But I would venture to share, from my Christian point of view, that love and respect for others overcomes that.  "Love is a strong as death," writes Saeed Abedini, American citizen imprisoned in Iran, in a letter to the Christian Church in 2012.  Or as I quoted Ray Comfort in my last blog post, "Maybe everyone is made of individuals..." He was referencing the tragedy of the Holocaust when a woman, he was interviewing, wondered where the world was and why everyone didn't unite sooner to save the victims. How can this be translated into theatre since everyone doesn't share my same worldview, you say?  The love of creating something powerful and new to cause the world to think not only about themselves, but the social and political landscape that envelops them--simple.

What is the next step?  Maybe we need some more Brecht.  Maybe we need to throw some guerilla-type invisible theater into the mix.  Maybe we need to do some more community-based work in schools and community centers.  Maybe we need to hold forums in the public square.  Or perhaps we need to do something shocking that grabs the attention of the world, like sit in an art museum and slap someone's face or be present with someone.  There isn't a definitive answer yet, and that is why all these forms and ideas emerged. Theater is subjective and affects its audience in different ways.  But we need to continue TO DO...to do work that means something to us as artists and to the community.