A Director Without Her Megaphone

My particular choice of area for my next project is in a theater classroom in the basement of Popejoy. I asked my acting teacher, who has been teaching there since 2004, what the place meant to her.

            Her first word was energy, diverse energy. One only needs to look around to realize the area is all about chaos, and it drives her nuts. There are cabinets, blocks, chairs, tables and beds scattered everywhere in this large room with exposed pipes running along the ceiling. To her it resembles insanity, and disregard for order. Which is fine. In here there is a teacher and a student, but the roles are constantly apparent in every person there. An open mind will find constant benefits here, a constant flow of new knowledge.

            But there are challenges here; they come in the form of close-minded people. Students who will not open up to the “weirdness” of acting. They believe they’ve already developed their mode of action and will not deviate. Worse, there are teachers who assume they must dictate rather then direct. For my teacher, her biggest challenge is opening up those minds so they may access the material that their behavior will not usually permit.

            To the outside eye this is merely a storage space that deserves no respect. But it should not be taken for granted, ever. She leaves notes to people who leave messes or trash. Because it is sacred, it is her church basically. There is a spiritual closeness here, closeness to her purpose. See, her teaching is an art, and her students are her art pieces.

            There are parallels to her philosophy and to that of the Theater of the Oppressed. But the scale on which she operates here in hindered by a budget. She says it is difficult to navigate capitalism. Money is a factor. It shouldn’t be that way, this art is spiritual, and it adds a sense of universe, a connection to everything. She strives to be clear when teaching that importance. This space taught her about clarity and continuity. Here, she is no longer a hit-and-run teacher; she’s here for a greater time and intends to have a greater effect.

            She asks herself, “Am I being fair? Am I being loving and empathetic? Am I making connections?” She does not wish to dictate, this space calls for two-way exchange of knowledge, not a one-way exchange of information.  Every time she enters here she has a new discovery, the learning never stops, the exploration never ends. When you are in here your sole purpose is to examine life, not deny it or fabricate it. Examine the mirror within which you see yourself and all you have that makes you up.

            Criticism stops art, judgment halts art. It’s not about forcing someone to change; it’s about solving the problem together. Imperfect and perfect collide they are synonymous. There is a side note here that I cannot place that says “Ambivalent to God.” You decide what you want to see that as.

            In this place she sees herself, her childhood experience of rejecting the norm, of reflecting her experiences and producing new perspectives. It is in here that she always approaches with love, never with fear or anger. Only love. This is where we can all connect, and together be calm, real, and alive.