A Brief History of the Theatre: How theatre has lost much deserved attention in a world that once created it as a necessity

So sorry for the delay, my schedule caught up with me a little too soon and for far too long.

Theatre was first created for the purpose of serving as a personal therapist of sorts to the community.  The subject matter tended to be very relatable even for people who may not have actually experienced the situation first hand.  For example, very few people in Greece suffered from the problem of committing incest with one’s own mother by mistake.  Yet by either the efforts of the actors or Sophocles himself, the audience understood the character of Oedipus and his guilt-stricken fate.  Often times, in such circumstances, an audience member would experience what is known as Catharsis, or a purging of the emotions.  This was very important to the people of Greece and the other later civilizations that would copy their culture.  A good therapist or psychiatrist will recommend a good cry to someone who has experienced trauma. Instead of burying the pain down deep inside and allowing it to accumulate, later implode, releasing the emotions in several sessions of tears, discussion, or even throwing items about the room in a secluded place without people around to avoid suspicion of insanity, is essential to healthfully coping with pain. The theatre was an artistic alternative. Catharsis was also available to people even if it didn’t necessarily “hit home.” Even the most naïve of citizens were able to not only experience an emotional release, they were able to grow in life experience without having to live out the situation.  Younger members of the community would understand through stories like Antigone that for absolutely no rhyme or reason, people die, and this is what makes real life as tragic as the Greek interpretation of it.  Such stories were very effective for teaching people to cope with loss, especially for people who may have suffered very little.

                                                  Oedipus and Antigone: Brodowski 1828

Later in the world’s history, such views on theatre would reverse.  After the stock market crash of 1929, people were one catharsis away from suicide.  Instead, they needed an escape to cope with the harshness of their lives. Therefore, Hollywood brought theatre to the movie screen as an accommodation for the struggling middle class.  In this light, I can say with a clear conscience that MGM studios probably saved thousands of lives through their popularization of the theatrical movie.  Director Busby Berkeley captured elaborate, colorful images coupled with dazzling choreography in a fashion that proved mesmerizing to even the most distressed of families. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers brought smiles to everyone in their classic ballroom numbers, and for a minute in time, a worried mother forgot about her inevitable circumstance.  These two purposes for theatre were essentially the antithesis of each other, but as clearly showcased, they served a vital purpose: to remind people of the different aspects of their humanity.

                                                  Busby Berkeley directing 42nd street

Today, theater is known as a cure for boredom serving the lowest of purposes: to simply rouse.  Thanks to this uncultured ideology that has now become the basis of our “culture,” the stage has no funding and empty seats.  Hoping for the tides to pass, New York has tried to bring back members with attention grabbing, action packed shows like Spiderman: the musical.  I’m sorry but did you read that? What I just underlined? It just looks ridiculous, and I highly doubt that Astaire or Aristotle would disagree.  

 I cannot count the times in which I have heard people say that they are going to a show “to have something to do.”  In sharp contrast, I can only count three times when I have heard the reason is their “need to see and experience art.”  The sooner we can get a firm grasp as a society upon the fact that theatre is not just a choice over the movies of today, but that it is a mandatory act to restore the soul and to cure either ignorance or woe, the sooner we can begin to classify this time in history as one that has finally attained what the Greeks have always had but what we in America lately have lacked: a legitimate culture.

History of Emotion Part "Un"

DONT BE SUCH A GIRL!




I would love to know what that means. 




The way I see it, to be a female is to posess the biological makeup necessary to be named as such. This of course is the true denotative meaning.  Unfortunately, we live in a world of connotative definitions that seem to be of little value after a year or so. Words are no longer a means of ideas, they are a means of fashion.
Therefore, to be a girl in today's sense is to be weak-bodied, emotional and of course, sexually unaware while simultaneouly a sexual object, to name a few basic categories.


The word I believe to be most imperative that we discuss is 'emotional.'  What exactly does it mean? What levels are there of emotion and what level indicates being emotionally unstable? Also, when is it acceptable to be unstable(because there are perfectly acceptable reasons to lose one's marbles)? I think we need to look through the scope of several time periods and explore what emotional meant at the time and how perhaps they would have responded to such questions. 


First of all, Im not going to travel back to ancient Mesopotamia times. I dont think we need to go that far. A relative pattern is all we need to take a closer look at this idea. So, I will start with the 12th century: chivalry.
Chivalry first began as a means for the church to militarize their respective region and protect their populus from being affected by secularist outsiders.  Knighthood was based on a vow to God to protect the vulnerable and those without resources, espeacially women, children and the poverty stricken.  Their sole purpose in life was to give back to others, spurting a social class geared toward selflessness. Pairing nicely with these ideals was the arrival and popularization of the troubadours (or trobairitz for women) throughout the greater parts of France.  These were travelling musicians who often, like in popular music of today, wrote about lofty ideals, politics and especially courtly or chivalric love.  Now we see two very different kinds of emotion develop: a dutiful and selfless concern, and a whimsical, passion-triggered expression.

This is one of the first times in history where we see emotion truly take off within a culture, aside from the Greco-Roman empire.  But here in the 12th century, we have more information pointing to this fact than in prior ages, particularly due to their fascination with Arthurian Legend.  Although there is no conclusive proof that King Arthur actually existed, most of the validity of these claims begin in the 12th century with writer Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae.in which Geoffrey chonicles the life and times of King Arthur first and then Lancelot and the Holy Grail were later added. 

  Although the existence of said events could be put to question, the stories themselves remained impactful nonetheless. One of the most haunting tales regards the mysterious and tragic Lady of Shallott (also known as the Lily Maid of Astolat) envisioned by several 19th century artists and especially by Lord Tennyson during the Victorian era revival of Arthurian Myth (google the poem!).  Here, we see Lady's unrequited love, Lancelot's gentle manner of being flattered but unable to accept for love of another, Lady's passionate grief and tragic death, Lancelot's brokeness for her no longer beating heart and guilt for his connection to such a devastating event .  Thus, a blending of the two kinds of emotion for the time period are woven into one story: the dedication of a knight and the yearning of a maiden.  At the time, both were seen as perfectly valid as the other and incredibly similar as well as desirable. Both were noble and loyal stances prompted by something outside of themselves: for the maiden, an all consuming passion; for Lancelot, a commitment to God to be a respectful gentleman. Two forgotten yet valuable characteristics of emotion.

As you can see, these qualities and stories are not exactly indicative of today's culture.  Many artists living in the past by choice have attempted to revive these qualities such as Kate Dicamillo, author of The Tale of Despereaux.  She has ingeniously communicated these ideas, not to theologians or philosophers but to

 children. Her success cannot yet be known, but her tactic is certainly applaudable. I will say this for her benefit: chivalry cannot and will not be dead, unless people cease to discuss it.

The Birth of Folklore

In my life, I have always found interesting the concept that we tend to disconnect imagination from reality.  We have a faith, a spirituality of some sort, but we also have fairytale stories at bedtime. We have career goals, a future, and then we may have dreams.  We reserve the most jubilant and glorious desires for the realm of the impossible, but why is that? Did you know that people held to the belief that fairies existed until The Age of Enlightenment in the late 18th century? This of course, was also the time in which we began crediting reality with the ability to be proven mathematically and scientifically, also known as empiricism.

However……

There are so many things that we know exist without being able to physically detect them. The realm of logic, math, and ideas are untouchable, have no taste, and cannot be heard on their own.

The bottom line is this. There are things about this life that no one quite understands. But we continue to believe, we have faith in these things.  We believe in love, creativity, satisfaction, and contentment. Each of these ideas have an element of mystery, and thus allows for us to imagine their distinctive qualities to suit our personal needs.  In a way, these truths become our dreams, the unattainable, and we pursue them. We simply do. In the same way, we secretly wish the fairy tales to be true, we wish that the magic of a story would become manifest in our world. Does it hurt to dream? I like to think not, for just like the fairy tales and legends, the Tudors, the Borgias, Aboriginees and the Celts, I dream of happiness and fulfillment, patiently awaiting their appearance; thus, they remain forever in the realm of Folklore.

I will live there someday.

I promise.

"I once had a sparrow alight upon my shoulder for a moment, while I was hoeing in a village garden, and

 I felt that I was more distinguished by that circumstance that I should have been by any epaulet I could

have worn."   Henry David Thoreau

The Birth of Fledgling

I want to fly.

Why is that so hard for the world to understand?

Its been a solid four years since i discovered what I truly want to do with my life.  For awhile, I was content with biding my time and waiting on education so that I could pay my dues in academia. Yet as each year passes, I lose some of that vigor and excitement that used to spur me on to acheive my dream. I suppose I dont understand why exactly I have to get an education to do something Im already good at doing. But hey, thats life. Life is one big roll of red tape that has to be cut through with one thousand dollar bills.

Ill be Frank. The primary reason for Fledgling’s existence is, well, im fed up. Im absolutely exhausted with the tape. But I will not have my mouth taped shut. I will not allow for my voice to be turned down simply because I have no references and may have not tightened my grip enough for a hand shake. Instead, I will write to acheive my future. Ill put my sense of fulfillment in my own hands and allow myself to become set apart, flying out of arms reach into thought and perception.

I will fly.

and I will soar.