“Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to.”
– Willem Defoe
Introduction
The storytelling medium of theatre has a long and rich history. Some of the most iconic stories of all time are written for theatre. (William Shakespeare, anyone?) Despite this, it’s probably the least accessible medium for us today, because it is the only one that can’t follow us into our homes. If you want to see a play, you have to go out of your way to leave the house. Most other formats are now available to us through the convenience of streaming or apps.
It is my opinion that theatre is the second most human way to tell a story. The first most human way is traditional oral storytelling. Theatre ranks second due to the “fourth wall” between the audience and the performers and the need for additional sets and props to aid in the storytelling. Oral storytelling is about as human as it gets – just one person to another. Theatre is still very human, though. Live performers are performing in front of a live audience. And though there is a metaphorical wall between the two, it’s not an actual screen or page.
The big question is how relevant is theatre today? Does anyone actually want to go out of their way to see a theatre production when they can stay home and watch something instead? Is it worth keeping the art of theatre alive or is it a medium from another era that is slowly being replaced? You may have an answer of your own. I have an answer. Regardless of what the answer is, it’s important to celebrate the unique medium of theatre as we understand the significant historical impact it has. Let’s delve into what makes storytelling through theatre so wonderfully intimate.
The Physicality of Theatre
My personal favorite aspect about theatre is the exaggerated physical prowess of it all. Everything about theatre is big. And it needs to be. It’s storytelling to a vast, live audience. The actors are loud, the movements are over emphasized, the costumes are colorful. Everything about it screams character and personality. That is something I relish. I think modern storytelling is shying away from having these qualities as a whole, but theatre is a format where it still flourishes. I love seeing the actors and artists pour themselves into the story with gusto.
There is a careful line that the cast and crew of a theatrical performance must walk. Unlike a movie that allows room for error due to re-takes and an ever growing reliance on post production, theatre demands perfection. The performance is live. It is happening now. There is no room for error. This demands a lot from everyone involved. It demands commitment from everyone to know their roles, memorize their lines, and stay focused. There is nothing luxurious about it. This is another aspect I love about theatre; the commitment to mastering something and knowing it well ahead of time in order to pull of a performance. Add to that, the symbiotic relationship the cast and crew must have with each other. It’s not a one-man performance.
Speaking of team effort – theatre fosters community. Like any large project, everyone is focused on a single objective – the play. They have to be one big team to pull it off. And often times, they find themselves becoming a close-knit family. There is a special bond the theatre cast and crew forms. Part of it has to do with the temporariness of theatre (more on that later.) Unlike a film, which will last forever, a theatre production only lasts for but a small time. Then it is over. Never to be experienced the same again. I believe this fosters closer connections and deeper memories, because everyone recognizes how special this project it is. It will always live in everyone’s memories.
Theatre and Intimacy
A good monologue shines in theatre. Sure, you can find a monologue in other formats, but theatre monologue is special. It’s directed at the audience from a live person. The actor will cease talking to his colleagues and address us, as if he has know we’ve been there the whole time. And it works – it’s bringing us into the headspace of the character directly through the character’s personality. We get to know them intimately as they unpack their thoughts and feelings directly to us! It resembles an actual conversation between two people, (though very one sided.)
When a character addresses the audience directly, this is known as “breaking the fourth wall.” The character has defied some sort of unspoken rule that they cannot interact with the audience. This happens in cinema at times, but there is still a literal screen between us and the character. In theatre though, there is no barrier. It’s a person standing in the same room as the audience. This leads to a very intimate sort of feeling. You feel like part of the story itself.
Intimacy is an attribute not many of the other mediums can claim. Oral storytelling can (because it is about as one-to-one as it gets). Music can as well, to some extent, due to the nature of headphones (playing the song directly into your head) or even live music performances. Unlike oral storytelling, theatre keeps some distance from the audience, but it pulls off an intimate essence. How so? Once again, the lack of physical barrier between us and the characters does this.
In addition, the story is a collective experience, which adds to the intimate feeling. The audience sits in a dark room all together. The auditorium can be huge, but you feel so small and connected. For the hours you all are watching the play, you all know each other. You all share he same goal of absorbing the story. Only when the story is over is the illusion of intimacy with your fellow audience members shattered.
The Temporariness of Theatre
Theatre is a living, breathing story. Not in the usual way people talk about stories being living and breathing. Stories are living and breathing in the sense that our relationship to a story is always changing, both individually and culturally. A story told through theatre is living and breathing in a different sort of way.
Due to the nature of live performance, the literal story is living and breathing through the actors and crew. There is nothing artificial about it. What you see is what you get. How the performers are feeing will impact how they show up that night, and the technical difficulties will alter how the crew has to aid the performers. These different aspects influence a play in a very direct way. There is no back tracking or second takes. What you see is what you get.
The audience themselves also greatly influence the performance. Their responsiveness, or lack thereof, affects the dynamics of the room. A quiet crowd is an energy killer and makes a show feel awkward. A lively crowd, one that claps and laughs and cheers, fuels the actors and over all creates a better experience for those watching as well.
While a theatrical story may be written on paper for all time, every single performance of that story will be different. They are like a snowflake. No two will ever be alike. Even with the same cast and crew, you will never ge the same show again. A movie and book is set in stone. A live performance is not. It alters all the time.
For the audience, there is a certainly a subconscious knowledge that the play you are about to watch will never happen again. This subconsciously dials in the intensity with which you watch. It makes each scene and character stand out more. If you miss a beat, you will never get a chance to go back and see it. I think this is a very powerful aspect about theatre – it grounds the audience in the moment more so than other mediums.
Conclusion
So, circling back to the question I left us with at the introduction – is theater still relevant today? My answer: it should be. I can’t say that it is as relevant as it was in, say, Victorian England. TV and Cinema have replaced it in many ways. But, theatre represents something that we ought to think about more. The nature of temporariness. It brings an entire audience together for a moment in time go enjoy this once in a life time experience they are about to get. It teaches us a lot about being in the moment. But it doesn’t just teach this to the audience though.
It teaches the cast and crew to be in the moment as well. They have to be. Once again, there is no re-do. The only choice is to only go forward. Everyone must be committed to the production. If someone isn’t, the whole thing collapses. Theatre is all about being in the present moment. The actors must know their lines and choreography to a T, the crew must know their queues and have a great management system. In a world that is diverting us away from being in the present, theatre is a masterful art that can encourage us in the art of being present and focused.
The last note I will say about its relevance has to do with celebrating the classics. Many of the most iconic stories of all time were written for theatre. While we can adapt them for the screen and for literature, we can only truly appreciate the original story in its original form – a play. And so, keeping theatre relevant is necessary for celebrating these classical works for art. Why bother celebrating these? Well, stores are meant to be passed down from generation to generation. They tell us important, timeless truths from different the lenses of said eras. This is crucial for helping us develop our ability to see things from different perspectives.
So, consider treating yourself to a local play and immerse yourself in the present by celebrating the wonderfully intimate storytelling of theatre.
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