Theater and the Big "Why."

Before I begin, I’d like to start by recommending a series on Scott Walters' Theatre Ideas blog titled “Advice to a Theatre Major.”  In his posts Walters gives great advice, specifically with his emphasis on the importance of finding one’s raison d’être, or as he put it, one’s “why.”  As a former theater major, this got me thinking. 

Without diving into too much detail about my fundamental beliefs with regard to morality, ethics, politics, etc. I’d like to put my “why” into words as best I can because it also happens to be the “why” for Rocklin Shakespeare.   I wrote in my first blog that Rocklin Shakes was formed in order to “create a fun and secure space in which artists and actors could experiment with their craft, to stimulate collaboration through the support of a cohesive ensemble of players and to bring the fruit of our labors to the widest audience available by offering free admission.” 

These are all “whats” and “hows” but do not illustrate the fundamental reason as to why a group of people joined the program and donated thousands of unpaid hours as well as money from their own pockets to bring it to fruition five years in a row.  It does not explain why thousands of people (including strangers from 100 miles away) came to the performances night after night and left with huge smiles on their faces, or why children got so excited for the program that they arrived dressed like characters from the play, or why community members continue to recognize the actors at coffee shops and grocery stores and go out of their way to tell them how much they enjoyed their performances.

The why is about inclusion, about unity; it’s a fundamental belief that we can identify ourselves by the fact that we are human and can unite because of our sameness rather than divide because of our superficial differences.  We’re not trying to sell anyone anything, we just want to identify with and connect to the people with which we live.

A “why” is terribly difficult to put into words because it comes from the limbic part of the brain, not the language controlling neo-cortex.  Theater has the power to speak very clearly to the limbic part of the brain---the part that controls emotions---but people have to go experience it for themselves.  I would have a hard time approaching a stranger and trying to sell them my belief system without them having attended one of my shows.  Heck, I had a really difficult time explaining the belief system to my own actors before they began rehearsals and were able to absorb it through their experiences.  Last year, prior to the first rehearsal with a new cast, I actually tried to put the “why” of Rocklin Shakespeare into a rhyming little cheer:

“The reason that we are here

Is so much more than Will Shakespeare:

We’re inclusive not exclusive,

Positive not negative,

Supportive, creative, constructive the-A-ter!”

I believe the cheer was largely ineffective in converting new actors to Rocklin Shakespeare’s “why” because they didn’t need converting: they’d already shown up.  Also, as anyone who has pretended not to be home after spotting missionaries walking up their sidewalk knows: proselytizing as a means of conversion is mostly met with defensiveness and rejection.   Another reason why the cheer was ineffective is that it was still fixated on the “what” of our program, something that was already obvious to the participants.

So to take from Simon Sinek’s “Golden Circle” phrasing:

Why:  We want to identify with and connect to the people with which we live on a human level.

How:  We create fun and secure spaces to stimulate inclusive, creative collaboration within our community.

What: We also produce great theater. 

Want to come to our next show?

Above photo from Rocklin Shakespeare's 2010 production of a Midsummer Night's Dream.  Heather Smith, as Snout, portrays Wall.

Is Shakespeare Relevant?

Is Shakespeare relevant?  There are a few possible perspectives on this question, but for now I will explain why the life of one William Shakespeare is incredibly relevant to Rocklin Shakespeare’s current situation.

 

The Bard is known by many labels and titles but one that everyone seems to agree upon is the fact that Shakespeare was a populist.  In order to draw the big crowds day after day, Shakespeare had to write plays that included elements to appeal to a broad local audience.  Including elements that appealed to the masses as well as to royalty, Shakespeare ensured that everyone would like something about his latest play.  Many critique Shakespeare for borrowing most of his plots, but others argue that he chose his plots strategically: he appealed to what was popular and what was important to his audience at that moment in time.  Shakespeare always wrote what was relevant.

If we are to succeed in reaching our community with theater, I hypothesize that we too must know our audience and produce what is interesting and appealing to them.  When choosing our plays we have to ask ourselves what the current issues are in our community, what people are thinking about and what they’re talking about.  We must consider all age groups, races, ethnicities, religious groups and political groups that compose our audience, and we must figure out a way to appeal to them all.  Shakespeare’s job (and sometimes his life) depended on these skills.

Hypothesis: If we are to succeed, then we have to learn from Shakespeare.

“Is [insert title] by William Shakespeare relevant to our community?”  This is the question to ask ourselves and we will have to be specific about what is relevant by addressing current issues.  For example, will this play help us better understand the turmoil in the Middle East?  What about our current unemployment problems?  Will this play provide a perspective on hot topics like unions or the income disparity between the middle class and the super rich?   In order to ask these questions, we will have to be like Shakespeare and stay on top of the issues of the day.  We’ll also have to be strategic to address issues that will still be noteworthy by the time our rehearsals are over and we’re ready to perform.  Staying relevant takes work.

Sometimes (maybe even often) none of Shakespeare’s plays will be relevant to the issues we believe to be the most important for us to address in our community.  That is why I believe we’ll need to evolve as playwrights as well as performers.  We will have to become Rocklin’s own type of Shakespeare to produce new and relevant work that appeals to everyone.  In this case, even if the content we produce is modern, the name “Rocklin Shakespeare” still applies.

On a broader scale, I'm very interested in what defines a play as "relevant."  I also feel I need to outline what I mean by "succeeding" as a theater.  I'll leave these topics for future posts, but thoughts, opinions and reflections are always welcome.

Image of Shakespeare courtesy of www.vanishingshakespeare.org.