So I'm back from my trip down to sweet home Alabama (my GOD it was hot down there!) and our good friend the Coach is officially married. I had a great time, but it got me to thinking about some things. At one point , all the groomsmen and best men and ushers, etc, were in a tiny room giving the coach the business about how "horrible" marriage is and how he was "throwing away his freedom" etc, etc...then it got kinda mean-spirited with a couple guys telling the "my wife is so stupid" stories (btw coach- i'm not refering to your best men, as they were cool about this!) - you know the type. "Oh she's got BOOK sense, but no COMMON sense "(whatever the hell that means!) And I thought to myself "Well hell- my wife's pretty cool! I even (gasp!) still LOVE her!!!! You guys are pathetic, bald, fat bastards and should be happy a woman will even co-habitate with your sorry asses!" I didn't say that- but I should've! My wife is a beautiful, amazing woman and she deserves as much...and as I was driving home, staring out at the beautiful middle Tennessee landscapes, drinking in the clear, blue sky and listening to Robert Earl Keen on my cd player, it occured to me: Life is pretty damned swell and I don't often thank my lucky stars, or my maker, enough for that!
So enough with the testemony- here's the question folks: In Robert Cohen's THEATRE: A Brief version, he says that "ultimately, theatre is a celebration of life".
What's that mean to you? And don't be afraid to be specific...
BTW- for this song reference, I need artist, song title AND the next line of the sonG! AND it's worth FIVE BIG POINTS! and believe it or not, when I wrap up this contest next month there WILL be an actual prize! So get crackin!
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16 comments:
Steve cheats for song titles! He "googles" for the answers!
Hell, I don't care how you get the answer!
But there is a TOPIC guys....
"The road goes on forever, and the party never ends." From the song "The Road Goes on Forever". The version I've always heard (on WUKY, I think) is by Joe Ely. But ... I looked it up, and he didn't write it. Robert Earl Keen did. Does it count that I checked allmusic.com (not Google!!) for the songwriter?
As for the topic, well, theatre is just so *alive*, of course it's a celebration of life. Here we have people interacting with other people in front of (and occasionally with) another group of people. It's all so vibrant and, while most often "scripted" somehow, it's an environment that's not entirely controllable, is it? Sure, you rehearse and plan and do everything you can to ensure that a performance will go smoothly (God knows that's my job as a stage manager), but it's live, and when you hit curtain you're never 100% sure what's going to happen. And that's how life is. I think theatre -- with its no re-takes aspect -- is an art form more closely aligned with actual life. You can't go back and re-do bits of your life to "get them right". You can only rehearse and learn and then throw yourself in and do your best. And you try to improvise to cover when things don't go according to plan. Ultimately, the process of doing theatre reminds us to be in the moment, to be aware of our surroundings and our fellow human beings. Because if we don't do that during a show, we'll either run into the scenery or step on an actor or leave someone in darkness. Kinda like life.
FIVE BIG POINTS, Nat. That puts you in the lead with six...and that was a fine answer to the question, btw!
Sorry, Steve!
So here's the scores thus far:
NATALIE (our new leader) - 6pts
Fletch- 5 pts
Steve K- 1
Dustin-1
Mikey-1
Diva Master- 1
Scott Mac- 1/2
Does it count if I find a wife like Tim's through google.com?
I won't argue against anyone who sees acting as a celebration of life, but I see it as more of an observation of life.
Steve, since that was such a beautiful answer, I'm gonna give you an extra point just cause I can!!!
And in response, you're absolutely right. One of my students who turned in her critique paper on the show was talking about how "selfish Joe was" and that the students she came with argued with her that she was wrong the whole way home.
Actually, Joe was just cleaning the gun and it accidently went off...he was coming back outside to shoot a bat he saw flying around the yard!
OK. My first impulse on this song would've been to presume a truncated "and..." at the beginning, putting me square in the middle of Allman Bros. land (NOT Kenny Wayne Sheppard). Leave it to Nat, though.
Not to go negative on the topic here, but may I tell you what 'theatre as a celebration of life' does NOT mean to me? I think that might be as informative in a way...
I worked with a certain someone not long ago, who will remain nameless here, on a musical. I played in the pit (bass guitar, not banjo) and was told by this chump very early on that it was expected that there would be "...no mistakes. I do not tolerate mistakes in theatre. Unlike life, theatre is the only place where we get to rehearse, so I will tolerate no mistakes."
Bull-s**t!! A thousand times bull-s**t! Rehearsed or not, we are still being human and still doing the best we can. That's why, a few questions back, we laughed about mistakes and near-misses and farting donkeys.
More on topic-center, I know the whole textbook answer about "a celebration of the human experience", etc. but frankly, sometimes we are having fun, sometimes we are just doing a job. It's entertainment. It may be cathartic or cleansing for the performer, or it may be a bitch of a show that we are happy is over when we're through. (Damn musicals.)
Am I saying it's just another job? No. If for no other reason than I don't want to think that. It's an escape, sure. It's fun. It's something one can be proud of (how many people have the courage to do this, anyway?). Even the tech end is very satisfying- sometimes more so, for me. I love a good sound design, especially if I did it.
I guess I've always felt a little pretentious talking about the deep meaning in it all. I don't feel that way when others talk about it, but it seems pretty cut and dried to me.
I do it 'cause I like it.
Some interesting answers thus far (though I wish I had more. I think this is an interesting question) I think it goes to the heart of WHY we actually do this and why it's important. Nowdays, maybe more than ever, I think it's important that Theatre has that celebratory aspect. I've always thought that, at it's core, theatre is about one thing : redemption. Now some may argue, and I know there are no absolutes, but I have a hard time finding a good work of theatre that doesn't express this idea SOMEWHERE in it.And the idea that we can always turn ourselves around, no matter how bad it gets, is something we need in this world. There's a great line in Wilson's PIANO LESSON where Avery, the preacher, says to Bernice "God don't ask what you done: God asks WHAT YOU GONNA DO?" That's an awfully powerful message to me. There's another great moment at the end of Jane Martin's MIDDLE AGED WHITE GUYS (Rick, you should do this show at AGL- It's brilliant!and it has BASEBALL imagery all through it!) where the three brothers who are the protagonists are off on a cross country march (naked, no less) to redeem the white man's sins, and thier guide, RV yells after them (and I'm paraphrasing) "The night is black but daylight approaches...Fear not...there is still ONE inning left to play!!!"
For as funny as that show is (and it's a friggin riot!) that "one inning" line gets me every time- it's the human struggle- sin and redemption. That need for some kind of salvation, spiritual or otherwise. To me, the celebration is in knowing that I'm not alone in that struggle...THAT to me is why what we do will always be important.
So that's my 2 cents...anyone else?
5 points for robet earl keen!!! by that token, the richard thompson answer should have been worth at least ten. What next, automatic win for a joe x. dubois question??
I've managed to go this long without a STARZ reference...but you blew it!!!!
"Celebration of life".....sheesh..i just shudder when i hear that pretentious theater prattle. Must we define everything. Must everything have some definitive meaning which lifts its spotted, soiled subject out of the mucky trappings of our ordinary existence???
I started doing plays when i was a child because i realized early on that my fondness for imagination coupled with a stage and costumes got me the attention i was seeking. Give me an audience and i would entertain them. Im sure a shrink would say its all rooted in pleasing others and feeling validated....i think they have meds for that too.
It wasnt until years later when i did a dramatic turn that i realized how a role could affect ME...and how maybe something more was going on then just hitting my mark and getting those lines out. And maybe it was about repairing my psyche, but that at the same time some kind of group catharsis(?) could come out of a good turn with a well written script.
Does god shine thru? Does god speak to us thru others? Thru written and spoken words? Onstage even?
Maybe ive lived with an actor for too long...or maybe ive seen one too many plays but i dont think theatre is a celebration of life. A reflection of course...but probably more like another avenue we are using to try and make sense of it all . Is that celebratory?
I always hate conversations like this....you know that. The need to validate oneself or what one does just seems pointless. If your heart leads you then follow.
Celebration of life? Hmmm. Depends, I guess. I don't think plays like Bash, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, Stop Kiss, Closer, or even 'Night Mother "celebrate" life. I think these plays and the many others like "expose" life (or at least a dark side of our lives) rather than celebrate it. Theatre can celebrate life but it can also give us an unflinching view of the darkness in our lives and our world. I don't want to celebrate things like that unless I'm coming down off an acid trip.
Performing is a celebration of life in my opinion. Theatre doesn't always celebrate life. Sometimes theatre flushes it down the toilet.
Oh yeah! I just got word from my (Conyers)Georgia peach Dakota Fanning (She lets me call her Fanny, by the way) that she has just finished up work on Lilo and Stich 2. And Charlotte's Web as well!!
HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!!
Now THAT is cause for celebration!
I see what you;'e saying,dude. But sometimes it;s that old "Gotta peer into the darkness to see the light" thing. It's like the Greeks with their whole "catharsis" idea...you see all this bad stuff happening and when it;s over, you not only have food for thought, you also can say"Damn! My life ain't so bad after all!" ..and to me that IS cause for celebration...
PS - My sister in law wrote something very sweet about me in her blog, so I'm giving her a shout out back! Love ya, Hope!
Check out her blog at http://www.appalachia-alumni-association.net/blog/
if you wanna read some really intelligent political type stuff (and some very funny swipes at Britney Spears!)
OHMIGOD (not to sound like a cheerleader) but...GUYS!
I did a silly little blogger search, cuz someone said they did that and their name hit a times. I do it (Yes...my vanity is now revealed...oh that's right...you all KNOW ME;-)) and lo-and-behold...here you are!!!!!!!
Okay, I am way out of the loop...what's happening???????????
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