The Power of Live Theatre

In today’s society of broadcast television and mass media, what used to be the only means of theatre – live theatre -has become less popular. People are just less inclined nowadays to buy a ticket to a show, get dressed up for the event, and sit through a two-hour performance without looking at their phones or checking Facebook. Live theatre has the power to pull people out of those technological reins and to push them to fully embrace theatre in its purest form, with no auto-tune or special effects to embellish what is already considered fine art.

There is no doubt that seeing a Broadway show is much less accessible than watching a TV show on a Sunday morning when the latter can be done without even stepping outside the house. However, it is that distinct difference in effort that makes live theatre so wonderful. The experience of performing arts is much more if one prepares for it. In live theatre, it is common to expect the unexpected; things may go wrong with the stage lights or the microphones, or a prop may accidentally be dropped in the middle of the scene. And it takes a certain degree of skill to adjust to these kinds of mishaps.

Professionals often create the illusion that these mistakes are written in the script, so that the audience is unable to notice unless they have prior knowledge of the script or its blocking. In addition to that, there is a type of emotional response live theatre evokes that is not as easily achieved in film and television. There is nothing like that moment during an intense scene where the silence in the audience is so great that a pin drop could sound like a bowling ball. Or when an actor looks directly into the eyes of an audience member and creates a bond between them of mutual understanding for whatever emotion is meant to be conveyed.

Attending live concerts, live theatre, live comedy shows, whatever it may be, are events that are very human. They bring out responses that the audience may not have expected to feel, and they make them feel connected with the performances. That’s what art is for, right? It is used as a representation of the human experience, and it is used to pull uncomfortable emotions out of people. Art is who we are, even if we don’t know it yet, and it is meant to be experienced face to face, not through a black box.