Things Theatre Taught Me That We Can Apply to Life

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Aside from curtain calls, heavy makeup, sleepless nights, and script revisions, theatre is a way of life. There are lessons that a theatre person understands that we can apply to life in general. These lessons remain relevant across different fields and various audiences, as theatre teaches more than memorizing scripts, and mere role play.

  1. The first rule in theatre: find your light. The last person sitting at the back must see you, your reactions, and your movement on stage. Beyond the proscenium, and after the costume’s been returned to the property department, this light is about your life, and it asks you to find where you want to go, and seize it. To seize this ‘light’ is to strive for it.
  2. Internalize, don’t just Understanding that theatre is a tedious process involves buying time to memorize scripts. To be effective, internalizing is the key. Yet, when you step outside this world of roles and rules, life is not just about memorizing and understanding the dailies, or sticking to routines, but understanding the many complexities that make life itself majestic.
  3. Feed your soul, not your ego. Theatre triggers delusion. The movie Birdman (2014) deals with delusional actors, fame-whores, and theatre people in search of factors to feed their egos. But clearly, when the light fades out, you are on your last bow, the curtain falls and you are on your own again. It must be also clear that egos need not feeding, but the soul does. Self-awareness, integrity, ingenuity, and authenticity matter more than the number of people who applauded and know you after your act.
  4. Cease seizing the spotlight, not everything is about you. In theatre, the ego is one’s number one antagonist, not your co-actors or your competitions. Stop being the stereotypical Rachel Berry. Repurpose your goal into something developmental, and fulfilling.
  5. Curtain falls, and so is life. Theatre is a way of living, as it reflects how goals, journeys, and dreams come to an end. The sound no longer reverberates, the light flickers and suddenly fades out, and what remains is a black, empty, space that was once filled with memories, glamor, and applause. Life embraces the splash of light and the divine sights, but as we are near the end, the curtain falls, and we take our last bow.