The Importance of Theatre

For this particular blog post, I wanted to change up the pace a little bit because of a TED Talk that I recently viewed. The talk is titled Why I do Theatre, and I feel like it is important because it’s an answer to a question that I get all of the time from a lot of different people. Constantly people seem to look down on the fact that I got an undergraduate degree in theatre, assuming that I spent all this money on a dead degree that will get me nowhere. I couldn’t disagree with that notion more, and I really need to work on translating that to those who oppose more; especially with the fact that I am working so hard towards starting my own theatre. Patsy Rodenburg is a very well known voice and acting coach in the theatre community, and in this talk I feel like she hits the nail on the head as to why theatre is absolutely essential to society.

Ms. Rodenburg spends this short talk telling stories and personal testimonies that discuss how actors and playwrights are present, in the moment, and in the truth. She compares these thespians to every one else in society, claiming that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, if you aren’t present you will not be successful. I completely agree with this notion. If you love something and are serious about it, you will be engaged and present within whatever it is. It will completely engulf your life and will be the source that drives your passion. There are no people out that that I think better fit this description than actors and playwrights. If serious, these people are constantly open, available, and living within the truth; even though they are writing and acting within imaginary circumstances.

The second point that Ms. Rodenburg stresses on is the idea of how theatre presents the truth. That actors and playwrights are inescapably good at presenting the truth up on stage, even if the audience hasn’t grown up enough to see it. It’s the main reason behind why I love theatre, and why I want to open up my own space. Theatre allows people to look into a mirror without even realizing it. Theatre can inspire change within so many people and in an amazing outlet for artistic creativity. It is not a dead end degree and I think it is something that society really does need.