Cate Kelly Writing Event 2
Does theatre matter? Yes.
Since the 6th century BC, or even before that, theatre has been a tool of teaching, entertaining, and enlightening. Theatre has given us the ability to start the unspoken conversation of large and small controversial topics. There are different ways that theatre can affect one’s well-being. When someone has an idea, they can express themselves through theatre by voicing that idea through the performance. This promotes this individual’s well-being by providing an outlet. This is also similar to how it affects the well-being of the performers. They express the story or idea that the director implements and that, in a way, allows them to escape their reality. The story that the performers put on more importantly impacts the audience by, as said in the definition, teaches, entertains, and enlightens. People leave the theatre talking about what they just saw and that gets the bigger conversation starting, the “meaning.” The message is then carried out and is talked amongst society. Theatre is not only used to carry out a message, it can be just therapeutic. In the video listed below, theatre is categorized as an art. Art is one of the most important classes one is able to take. Not only is it a great form of expression, but it improves attendance, helps academic performance, better verbal and math SAT scores, and aids literacy as stated in the video. Also, the arts give kids the ability to voice their opinion and it gives them the opportunity to have empathy for others by understanding what people go through. This allows future generations to better function in society. Theatre is, in addition, very pleasurable for the audience. It allows them to interact with the story, almost as if they were a part of it. As somebody who attends the summer student productions at Shenandoah University, plays and musicals bring joy to my life. I have a sense of excitement entering the auditorium because I can escape my personal life and enter a whole new universe. As said in class, it is food for my soul. After said performance, my family and I talk for nearly two hours about the different meanings behind what we just saw. In the beginning of the video listed below, there is a series of people who express how important theatre is to them and every one of them has a different reason of why it matters. Most explain how they can express their true selves and others talk about how it impacts society. The reason why theatre matters changes from person to person, but overall, it matters.
(41) Stage Matters: A short video on why / how / if theatre matters in America — YouTube
