Guest Editorial: Theatre an Act of Empathy

— by Jake Perrine originally posted Nov. 2014, reprinted upon request —

Who Needs Theatre? Photo courtesy of Harry Sircely

“Who Needs Performing Arts?”

Working with the creative team at Orcas Center this fall to resurrect the high school drama program, and preparing to spearhead the community-wide pageant that is A Christmas Carol, I am consistently reminded of the importance of the performing arts in our community. While often filed under “entertainment,” the deceptively simple act of performance encompasses so much of what I believe it means to be human — for both audience and performer alike.

I describe theatre to newcomers of all ages as “a team sport with only one team.” It is not an activity that can be done alone, nor in competition with one’s teammates. Much like sailing, participants must collectively agree upon a destination, and work together to get there. Moreover, the more specifically we agree on and describe exactly where we are going, the more nuanced the destination becomes. Upon arrival at a performance, we come to understand that even the audience is unwittingly “on our team.” In our competitive, consumer driven culture, inclusive activities like theatre renew our sense of belonging to a larger whole.

I have always appreciated that the reference manual for a given performance is referred to as a “play.” Embodied in this word is the requisite sense of wonder needed for such an undertaking. A “playwright” constructs an elaborate “what if?” wireframe that we may “play” upon. Every moment of a performance is a creative act of play, filling in an infinite array of details with nothing but our bodies and voices. If imagination is a muscle, theatre is its cross-fit training regimen.

So why tell stories to each other via live theater? Why all of the makeup and costumes and lights and sets and sound cues (and budgets and marketing and fundraising), why do it? Why not just go home, turn on Netflix and let the pros in Hollywood spoon-feed us all the stories we require?

I believe that at its core, theatre is ultimately an act of empathy. Part of fully embodying and understanding a character is to find a way to love them. Even the villains. (Especially the villains!) Even Richard the Third and Medea need our love. When we experience firsthand that even the worst of us is still human, brought to their own unique truth through a series of unique events and mishaps, we can learn to understand them and empathize with them.

Witnessing, in the flesh, a member of our own community doing the work to embody and empathize with a character that is alien to them — that is the true healing power of performance.

So whether you are an audience member, a donor, a volunteer, a performer, a designer, a painter, a technician, a student, or a parent — plug in! Orcas Center is your community arts center, and it needs your voice.

[Editor’s note: Those who enjoyed the rehearsals and performances of the high school “Theater as Literature” class in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, on April 1 and 2, 2016, as directed by Jake Perrine, may want to know that the class and performances come to the community as a collaboration of the Orcas Island School District, the Orcas Island Education Foundation, and the Orcas Center. ]