I. Love. Theater.

I have spent the past two evenings chatting about plays with other actors and playwrights and directors and I have to say, I love theater.

I love theater.

I.

Love.

Theater.

I love theater because it is a collaborative art.

Which may seem a bit odd in light of how much I love Susan Cain's TED speech and how excited I am to read her new book.  She talks about how essential "alone" time is for the introvert and the artist and the creative process and as an introverted artist, I am almost brought to tears that someone finally vocalized that thought.  It is such a huge relief to know that the time I spend in my own head working on a character (or blog post or video or song or whatever) is a good thing and that it's okay for me to do that.

But I love theater because it is a collaborative art.

I spent the past two evenings surrounded by other artists who had done their homework and came to the table with thoughts and ideas and questions and we all talked about those things in a safe, open setting, all for the purpose of creating even greater art down the line. We all had a common goal.  We may have had different ideas or opinions, but every opinion was heard and welcomed and considered.  Every voice appreciated.  Plus, there was a lot of laughter and connection that came out of each evening, too.

I guess my thing about being an introvert is this - people make me tired.  Most of the time.  I like doing things by myself.  But every now and again, I do need that little bit of external stimulus to wake me up or give me a little nudge or something to get my own creative juices flowing again.  And then I need to go off and explore those creative impulses on my own so I can present them to others in appropriate manner, but that little bit of a spark or a jump start or a whatever is a good thing every now and again.  I love it that I get that in theater, when you bring the actors, the director, the playwright, the producers, the designers, the dramaturg, the stage managers all together into one room and everyone wants to make the absolute best end product possible and it's brilliant when everyone can put their egos on a shelf for an evening and you all just...collaborate.  You work together.  Because in theater, the sum is so much greater than any of the parts.

I love theater.  I love that I get to be involved in this type of creative process that so beautifully blends solo and group work.  I feel so humbled and grateful when I get to be in a room like the one I was in last night or the night before, full of intelligent people who can express themselves and who are willing to listen to others.  How on earth did I get so lucky?

I.

Love.

Theater.