Quite frankly, there's a whole string of lines in the current musical I'm in called "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" that completely contradict this common trap I believe many actors fall into at some point in their career, where the main guy says to his boss on the telephone, "the whole company is greater than any one single person, the whole salad is greater than any one piece of lettuce, the whole... ect."
It just becomes increasingly draining to be so isolated with people who cannot open up and admit a certain dependence on one another to truly make magic happen on stage. Jill Lincoln, my acting teacher, always critiques our screen acting class with this simple phrase, "You're not listening!" We get so caught up in our objective and our environment and the other questions we're needing to answer as an actor that we forget that we're answering these questions so they're out of the way and we can fully and completely listen to the other person who holds the key to our objective's success or failure; in short, its all about THEM, not US! Nobody enjoys watching a selfish actor who's too busy playing the "pity card" of showing emotion to care about the other person.
This mentality is true both on stage and off. It just bothers me when a musical is just another show to get closer to higher success, when everything good and meaningful in life resides in the present moment, which accrues into the future. Worrying about tomorrow, as I have learned and bore the heavy burden of for a long time, only weighs you down with expectations that have not even happened yet, and might not happen as expected, which results in disappointment and confusion. Life is better surrounded by people you love and care about in working toward a goal rooted in love for others.
Theatre requires a full-blown trust in one another to listen and react. So why isn't it out of love and respect for one another? And if inside everyone, there really is that need to create something beautiful which requires an acknowledged dependence on one another to make it happen, then why aren't we letting it show in our actions? Our heart guides our actions, so if our hearts are attuned to one another in feeding each other with our own abilities as one part of a whole cast, why does it feel so God-forsakenly LONELY on stage?? Who are these people around me? Why aren't we getting to know one another? Would they care? Do they think about theatre the way I do? And when they talk, why do I not hear good things that encourage one another, but constant sarcasm that degrades without a redeeming kind word to restore the balance? Why so selfish in every word? Every action? Every motivation? God, please rescue us in this empty wasteland. Help us see with your eyes what your vision is, your calling, and guide us to seek you in theaters with loving casts of unselfish people who encourage and give all they can, and teach those who wish to learn. Create in us a clean heart O God. Restore our hearts to you and your kingdom, and your vision for how we can use our talents to glorify you!! My spirit is restless within me, frenzied for creation that worships you and you alone!
In the nativity story, the three kings brought their finest gifts to the one vision that brought them all together-- seeing the child that would become the Messiah of the world.
This is my vision for the body of Christ, translated into a more earthly occupation: the theatre.
Many actors come together form one cast working together toward a common calling higher than life itself. A call to share truth and love and the power of Jesus in new, powerful and bold ways is an exhilarating, meaningful challenge that, with the light of Christ within us, together we can fulfill!
I am a Christ-follower, broken of the chains of earthly obligations, a slave to hope, that someone better is with us in both this life and the one to come. What good for this world or the one to come can come out of a selfish heart for the present moments which earn only present happiness, yet nothing eternal? I am frustrated with our own Church body, because we still do not grasp the full meaning of loving the Savior of our lives WITH our entire lives! Everything we have to give, He wants to use and cherish for His glory, which we get to be a part of because of our beloved relationship with Him. The aching hope which drives me to type these words stems from the need to be joined with Jesus through His Church body to glorify Him and grow closer and closer to Him, our benevolent Father, who wants us to know Him as He knows us. He formed us intimately while we were in our mother's wombs, knowing our every ways before we came into being. He knows us better than we know ourselves. How can we not acknowledge the one who caused our entire being to happen, just so he could love us and we could freely choose to be in a deep and wide and high and enriching relationship with Him, holding His strong right hand as he guides us through ups and downs?
These are my desires. How can I keep from rejoicing and desiring Him more and more?
If human relationships desire spending more time with those they love, how much more do I want to spend time with my wonderful SAVIOR?!!?!
Although I will go wherever I am called, Theatre is where I am now.
With these desires in my heart, He needs to be the center of attention in any production.
As the cast, acting as one body moving synchronically to produce a cohesive show, let our entertainment stem from a heart rooted in love for one another, performing for an audience of one, who is the director, the choreographer, the screenwriter, and the energy breathing life into every other part of the show. In short, theatre is not a one-person show; it is a show for one person.
~Selah~
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