Alteration

Some days you find a story, or a person, or you witness an event, and it humbles you, makes you gracious and gives you desire to be forever kind and generous and thankful. I had me one of those days. Leaving the details aside, isn't that what theatre should do to the spectators? Isn't that how it should make them feel? (BTW - I often get questions or comments about why I use the term spectator(s) instead of the more common term in America audience or audience member. I consciously adopted that term about three or four years ago because I realized, or it seemed to me, that it implies one, a single person, more strongly than does audience or audience member. Saying "audience member" still places that person in context of being part of a larger group, with group like thoughts, reactions, behavior. Saying "spectator" makes that person singular with their own individual thoughts, reactions and behavior. I realize too these days when I am directing, that I tend to think of the action on stage intended for a single person, a single spectator. This does not mean I ignore or don't think of the whole of the group. What it means is that I think "can a particular action on stage have a sensoral effect on a person?" Or will it have a sensoral effect on the spectator? And is it a strong enough sensoral effect? And is it the kind of sensoral effect I (we) want? Will the spectator see it, hear it, feel it, taste it, smell it? If a particular stage action delivers itself in such a way that a spectators does one, some or all of that, seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, smelling - having their senses ignited like that by the action - then after that, its up to the biological process of that individual spectator. My control, in conjunction with the actors, and the playwright, is the logic with which the actions are delivered to the spectator. This means both individual actions and string of actions or cumulative actions. But again, as I am considering the manner of the actions, I am thinking primarily in terms of them being received by a single spectator. And no, I don't mean ok the person in row one on the end will receive this but the person is isle 14, section 11, seat 19 won't. I don't mean that. I mean is an action strong enough, direct enough, precise enough, and interesting enough to provoke those senses of a spectator, overcoming his or her other influences currently present? I measure it for one, knowing hundreds (or about fifty), will actually receive it. I see I need a whole post on this very topic.) Shouldn't when you, as a spectator, leave the theatre feel like your personal life and activities, thoughts, desires, wishes, etc will be forever altered? Maybe not earth shattering but if you are generally kind, you know you need to be kinder. If you are generally helpful you need to be more helpful from now on. If you are understanding you need to be more understanding. These things that make us feel this way in our daily lives are usually unexpected, or surprising, somehow radiant. They are specific, precise, often simple, funny, or unusual. They upset or interrupt our usual set of logic and/or expectations and perceptions.
Going to the theatre could or should include encountering these types of qualities - and the end result should that desire and need to change course, however small or large. As a spectator, and in life I guess, what doesn't encourage me to think and feel that way is the mundane, the cliche, the expected, the habitual. Because to those qualities my thoughts and senses are dulled. In the face of those qualities my thoughts and senses simply function. They don't perk up and go hey now! They don't grip on to those qualities and seek more. They don't review it. They don't process it through my Affective Memory, that storehouse, that total sum of knowledge and experience in my life and arrive at some conclusions. On the other hand, when a stranger takes your arm, and exudes a radiant smile, a smile backed by pain and suffering but with a firm and knowing commitment to proceed and give a breath of fresh air to someone else, then, my, your, senses perk up and life, experience, floods over you, emotions, thoughts, desires, physical activity begins to happen in a way that is different than it otherwise would have been. You are altered.