Even difficult journeys come to an end. THE END. I know that is what my cast is looking towards. This show has been so difficult. The subject matter, night after night, gets into the psyche and changes the way we go about our day. We, my company and I, need to move on.
So, though we may cry and hug and ultimately miss each other, this show is ending not a moment too soon. We've done the job. We've studiously educated, we've entertained, we done a remarkably clean show, we've broken hearts and we've raised money. All good work.
Time to move on.
I've railed about the nature of theatre. And here I am, again on the forefront. It is all life-changing. Yet... it is becoming increasingly impossible to make a living doing this.
Times are hard. We need water, electricity, internet connection, heat...food. And ART? Food for our collective brain.
Really... What is the point without ART? What kind of life are you living?
Hmm. That's all for now.
I have to reflect on this.
xxo
m.
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Mary,
ReplyDeleteRuined IS a transformative work of art. Part of its brilliance and power is its package of humor, grace, and poignancy packed in with the unspeakable horror of its title. I thank you and your cast and crew for making it possible, for your sacrifice over these many weeks for art's sake.
Theater has evolved as an expression of the human experience: catharsis and mourning in tragedies, catharsis and laughter in comedies. I'm not telling you anything you don't know, I know. It enriches our lives. But people need to experience it to know how important it is, how inspirational and therapeutic it can be. I think it needs to be experienced young, to start a connection and appreciation early.
How do we finance this in a time when there are so many competing needs and so much in the media seems to be about individuals instead of community? I do not know. Foundations can help. I think government should help, but my views on how the well-off and corporations should be taxed to provide more revenue aren't very popular out there these days.
Whatever you need to do to take care of yourself, you have already made a personal contribution about which you can be most proud, in the best sense of that word. It is a legacy that has lifted up and moved tens of thousands of people, I would wager.
I wish I had a magic wand.
Terri
xxoo