My experience with Theatre

I have taken the course ‘Understanding Theatre’ with hardly any experience in Theatrical activities. As a movie lover, theatre has always been an interest. I always wanted to understand how it worked; as the performances that are put on the stage seems so close to ones heart. It takes us along with it in a roller coaster ride of emotions. The artist cry to make us laugh, they undergo pain to entertain us which in a way is a sacrifice of not only their body but also their mind. To suppress ones originality and equip with the characteristics of another is never easy. And to do this whilst making sure that justice is done to the people watching it makes it even more interesting and difficult. When you take a look at Theatre from the outside, it seems fairly simple. But just like anything in life as you go deeper into it, we understand the complications in it. When looked at the earth from above, the grounds seem to be all green, but it is only when you come down to it, we realize that it is filled not only with trees but with sand and stones too. Why I mentioned this is because I want to convey the type of understanding that I had of theatre before taking up this course. For me, just like many, theatre was just another form of entertainment and life in it is just as easy as it looks. But after taking up this course I realized how narrow minded I was. Theatre is both Science and Psychology in itself. All of life is a theatre. It is evident from our history too! From the very beginning of human life and through its growth, theatre’s always helped men understand ourselves and not only about ourselves but also our relationship with the world outside of us. It is human nature to be curious and question everything that comes our way. The question that’s been hanging around for a long while is “What is our role in a relationship with this world?” And through this course I’ve understood that the basic elements in theatre, no matter how vague they seem are always in the same lines of life. Every human being, irrespective of where, how, when he was/is born is born with some kind of artistic sense. But to develop it requires the right kind of guidance and an inspirational figure who is ready to spread his knowledge to any who is willing to learn, and luckily through this course I’ve been able to get such a person. As the course went on I realized that in theatre like in no other field, we use it as a medium to express feelings, and meaning that the audience viewing it will get an opportunity to experience what we want them to experience. I’ve also got an answer to the following question. Why do we have theatre? And how is it important? Theatre is important because we are all human beings. And as human beings all of us look to quench our needs. And among them are food, shelter, security and more importantly display and need for emotions. In other words all of us want/need to be Self Actualised. We want to create or we are meant to create. The biggest thing that one can create is an experience. Unlike other forms of art where there is an expression of emotion, theatre as a whole is the expression of experience of a human life. We have theatre, in other words theatre exists even today because the experience is real. The experience that both the artist and the audience live in is a created world living. The situation irrespective of whether in real life or in the theatrical play may be real or made up, but the experience due to that is completely real. And it is because of this that theatre creates another world in the world that we live. And eventually because of this theatre also has the potential to change lives and influence the real world that we live in significantly. I also learnt to appreciate the theatrical process and theatre as a whole. It has helped me not only to understand but also to communicate ideas effectively to others whilst understanding their level of interest and intellectuality. Also I’ve learnt something my professional studies would never have taught me, that is Communicating with the body. Body Language is something that has to be understood and not learnt to completely realize the value of it and implement it. All of world is a theatre and the beings in it are characters, actors and the non-living objects are the props. And this is true when you consider the actuality, the naked fact of the theatre. We look for answers, question everything around us, and go to all sorts of places to find it. We realize that we are just being directed to do things. We look at the land, we look at all the living beings around us, we feel the air that surrounds us, we look at the water that quenches our thirst, we look at the skies above us, and looking at all of these we realize that the worlds just playing to our tunes, changing situations, change in peoples mentality, and more importantly the emotions with respect to one an other. Again, through this class I realized that the statement I learnt is completely true and valid. “Just like the settings in the theatre, our bearings and our presence is just like a costume on the body of an actor and theatre is the magic of nature, and in this great mothers (Earth’s) play, we all perform our little roles.” And as far as I consider myself after this course, I’ve learnt to appreciate the critical perceptions of the theatrical aspects. I’ve also learnt to respect other cultures without questioning their beliefs and philosophies. The worlds the grandest stage of them all and the one thing that I learnt is that I am a small part of it who can make a big impact on this world’s stage. That’s due to the personality and confidence that I’ve gained through the period of this course. To conclude it what I learnt is something that will never leave me. When we look into ourselves just like we look into others, have the self-confidence and belief; then we by ourselves are the kings, the most powerful agent to change the world. When we look into ourselves and concentrate on ourselves, bow down to learn things that can never be learnt as a student, then at that moment of time we are our own teachers.
-C. Maithreya