All I Need to Know...I Learned from Theater

"The play's the thing," I've heard say.  But lately, I've also come upon folks who view theater as mere entertainment or idle wastes of time.  At first, I took such criticism as offensive blows, but last night's Tony's were a call to arms. Peaceful arms.  Jazz hand arms.  They play IS the thing. With gratitude to Robert Fulghum for his Kindergarten essay, I now present my own list:

All I Need to Know...I Learned from Theater

• Know your lines, but be ready to improvise.
• Look alive!
• Sing out, Louise!
• Speak so everyone can hear you.
• E-NUN-CI-ATE
• Walk like your character would walk.
• There are no small roles. Everyone matters.
• React!
• Wait for the laugh lines and the applause.
• Don't wait too long; keep up the pacing.
• Tech week is going to be hell, but the show WILL go on.
• There's no people like show people..

Abadan-- a musical I took part in composing the music for in 5th grade

But it's more than this...  By attending shows and working on them,  I found role models and empathetic support for my own life path.  Here are some examples:

• From Anna in The King and I, I had a strong female role model, a fellow teacher who loved getting to know her students, but also one who insisted on keeping her own power even when being expected to kneel to a king.
• From Sipos in She Loves Me, I learned that speaking up for yourself is only beneficial insofar as you keep your perspective.  Sometimes niceties are important and humbleness can help.
• From Florence in Chess, I was reassured that being literate can help me pack a punchline and verbally spar with the best of the best!
• From Rebecca in Rags, I accepted that we really are all "Children of the Wind",  and that it behooves me to fly when it's time to fly, that this transience is part of my heritage.

Fiddler on the Roof at RMS 2016

But it's even more than that!  By attending shows and working on them, I learned about the world. Think of all the places and cultures I've visited!

• The Jewish shtetl of Anatevka, care of Fiddler on the Roof
• New York City of the Great Depression, thank you Herbert Hoover, care of Annie.
• The countryside of old Scotland, care of Brigadoon.
• A small idyllic kingdom called "Camelot"
• Cold War Chess tournaments in Milano
• Vietnam, with the Bui Doi, "the dust of life"
• The South Pacific, where "You've Got to be Carefully Taught"

and so on, and so on, and so on.

Playwrights are activists.  It isn't just the story, it isn't just the characters, it isn't just the songs.  When you have an audience, you have a group of people in a room and a message to share.  Sometimes playwrights have had to be sneaky to get around censorship; political authorities have known the power of the pen and have fought to dry the metaphoric ink for years.  But playwrights are smart people. They work around systems to get their message out.

The message of theater?  

BE YOURSELF.

You may act, but don't lose yourself.

Celebrate diversity.

I AM who I AM.

You are who you are.

Love is love is love is love is love is.... (Thank you Lin Manuel Miranda for your Tony's sonnet.)

Just entertainment?  

No. 

Theater has been and will continue to be my compass and guide for life.