All the World's a Stage

http://polaroid41.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage/

Sunday, October 3rd, 2021 - 8:28pm.

I love stories. This means in addition to loving theatre, I love books, movies and even certain TV shows. I’m in it for the stories, so why is theatre my medium? I’m currently reading ‘The Vanishing Half’ by Brit Bennett, and I just came across a passage that resonated with me about a young actor leaving LA to try her luck in the theatre scene in New York. The passage reads: “She was still trying to find her first acting gig then, and nobody understood why she left Los Angeles to do so. But she liked the stage. In Los Angeles, every actor she knew was obsessed with breaking into Hollywood, because anyone with sense knew that was where the money was. But that whole process seemed like a drag. Waking up at dawn, standing in front of a camera for hours, repeating the same lines until some asshole director was satisfied. The stage was something else altogether - new every time, which terrified and thrilled her. Each show was different, each audience unique, each night crackling with possibility.” I enjoy film work, but this resonates deeply with me as an actor. It also resonates with me as an audience member. I’ve written before about studies showing that while watching live theatre, audience member’s heart rates synchronize. The moment in the theatre is unique and shared, and you’re either there for it, or you’re not.

Since I got back from Minnesota at the end of August, I have been seeing a lot of shows. I’ve felt a bit starved after a year and a half of limited (or no) access to live performance, and I’ve been making up for lost time. In just over a month I’ve attended several concerts including a jazz trio, a brass band, an electronic DJ set and a quartet playing along to a giant projection of a graphic novel. I saw a three-hour cabaret about love, a musical reading of Woody Gutherie texts, a one woman show where she played 8 different characters, three women who gave a biting fake conference on female sexuality, an immersive piece with modern dancers and solo performances by seven ‘creatures of love and desire,’ a one-man review of news and current events from the summer, a modern dance duo, a presentation of a work-in-progress by a prominent local company, a visually stunning circus piece about finding your inner animal, a circus piece about surveillance culture, and another a circus piece with a social and environmental slant featuring 8 professional tightrope walkers, 8 child amateur performers, a musician and a vocalist.

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The complete 'polaroid' - text, minicast and polaroid photo - available at: http://polaroid41.com/all-the-worlds-a-stage/