Theatre

It's interesting that I've waiting this long to write about the stage. Because it is in many ways the closest that many of my dear friends have to a religion. They don't believe in the existence of gods, but devote themselves entirely to the service of Apollo and Dionysius.

Theatre is a religion. One in which I am a Christmas and Easter member.

I love theatre I really do. There is nothing like the thrill of being on the stage or seeing your words come to life. Theatre is unique amongst the arts in that it is truly alive. Dance is about the artistry of the moment and showing the beauty of the human form. Film is dead. It's amazing but it will be the same time every time.

But Theatre? Our great Mistress and drug of choice? That is something else entirely. Proper theatre isn't an art. It's not something that you watch. True theatre, GOOD theatre forces you to be a part of it. It looks at the subtle tubes of energy that connect all living things together and blows them open with emotional cherry bombs. Good theatre is not about enjoying what you're looking at. It's about feeling something. Even if it's just revulsion at the horror you're seeing. If you aren't feeling then it's not Theatre. It's skitwork. Hell it could still even be entertainment. But what makes it something special is the connection with the audience. That's what theatre is. Connecting with an audience.

Theatre is ancient. Older then the Gods themselves. The first stories told over a campfire were the first theatre. The sperm and egg of story and storyteller gestating for countless ages. As much as there have been many gods professing dominion over it, there is no God of Theatre.

Theatre is the womb from which Gods emerge.

Religion is the script.
The Church is the stage.
The Clergy is our actors.
And the believers are the audience. The ones there to be swept away in whatever story is presented.

That's the power of Theatre. It transcends the art of it and becomes something sacred. It is an altar where all can sit and eat of the apple of knowledge. Where we can feel vicerally the connection we have to other human beings. The web of humanity becomes thick and tangles itself into an experience like none other. Good theatre breaks us from our perspectives and forces us to look upon the world through eyes that are not ours.

Now if could be said that that's true of all art. And it probably is. But the thing is, art is dead. A sculpture will last a thousand years and only decay. Theatre is alive. It truly exists in that very moment and then it gone. You can watch a recording of a play a thousand times and it will never have the same magic as when you are sitting there breathing the air of the artists as they create it. The very moment it exists is it's destruction. It's a path to transcendance that goes beyond all others.

But also musicals... so maybe I'm full of crap.