time for reality???
Tue, 7 Sept 2004, 10:25 amdrue5 posts in thread
time for reality???
Tue, 7 Sept 2004, 10:25 ama friend (and i use the term loosely) once said to me, "what do you as a performer give to the world... you dont save lives... you dont help people... how does anything you do help the world?"
i was reminded of this conversation when reading about the terrible situation in russia and was wondering if any of you had any opinion...?
i'll give you mine soon...
andrew blake
[%sig%]
i was reminded of this conversation when reading about the terrible situation in russia and was wondering if any of you had any opinion...?
i'll give you mine soon...
andrew blake
[%sig%]
Re: time for reality???
Tue, 7 Sept 2004, 12:51 pmOuch.
If I could fully answer that - i'd be sitting in front of this screen for the next 2 hours writing some essay on the thing. But I won't.
I'll just quickly say that you have to look at the bigger picture - not just at performers but at the role of all artists.
Simply, our culture and our identity(be it individual or national) are shaped by the stories and values of the people living in that society.
How do we hear and receive those stories? Through writers, musicians, painters, sculptors - and sometimes those stories are told through performers through film and theatre.
Film is a very popular medium where performers can be seen and theres all sorts of genres that audiences can watch. People have all sorts of reasons to watch films, maybe its escapism from the ordinary drudge of life. Theres lots. People love watching heroes - it gives us hope. There are always heroes in films. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
I'm only scratching the surface here....heres another point thats occurred to me:
Theres a book by David Mamet called "Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama" - its a fantastic read that may not necessarily be all right but he describes how drama is inherent in all things that is life. Performing is all about human nature is it not? Doesn't that mean that we ARE ALL performers? Onstage or or not?
Read the newspaper - every story has drama in it. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Just like in Beslan. Be it the hostage-takers or the fathers who joined the soldiers.
We are all performers.
Crispy.
If I could fully answer that - i'd be sitting in front of this screen for the next 2 hours writing some essay on the thing. But I won't.
I'll just quickly say that you have to look at the bigger picture - not just at performers but at the role of all artists.
Simply, our culture and our identity(be it individual or national) are shaped by the stories and values of the people living in that society.
How do we hear and receive those stories? Through writers, musicians, painters, sculptors - and sometimes those stories are told through performers through film and theatre.
Film is a very popular medium where performers can be seen and theres all sorts of genres that audiences can watch. People have all sorts of reasons to watch films, maybe its escapism from the ordinary drudge of life. Theres lots. People love watching heroes - it gives us hope. There are always heroes in films. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
I'm only scratching the surface here....heres another point thats occurred to me:
Theres a book by David Mamet called "Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama" - its a fantastic read that may not necessarily be all right but he describes how drama is inherent in all things that is life. Performing is all about human nature is it not? Doesn't that mean that we ARE ALL performers? Onstage or or not?
Read the newspaper - every story has drama in it. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
Just like in Beslan. Be it the hostage-takers or the fathers who joined the soldiers.
We are all performers.
Crispy.