Alex Webb
We all should engage in theatre to discover both who we are and who we have the potential to become.
Augusto Boal, 2006.
You get up in the morning, choose your wardrobe, put on makeup, comb your hair, and choose in your mind, sometimes without knowing it, the face you will put on that day. Theater
You meet with your friends, go to a concert, drink, scream, jump, dance, sing, and cry. You hug with others. Theater
A little boy wants to play with you. You gently caress his face, offering a warm smile. As you begin to tell him a story, you switch to a storytelling voice, the one you know best. Your prince voice comes out with a high-pitched tone, but you do a great job portraying the giant’s character. Theater
You have an important work meeting. You have prepared well for it. You smile, enter the room, and greet everyone with a firm handshake. You are now ready to show your presentation. Theater
You will do the dishes. You have the radio on, and a song you love fills the background. You sing along as you let the music flow from the speakers. Theater
For work, you choose those well-fitted pants. At home, comfort is vital in your worn-out pajamas. Hiking adventures call for your trusty boots, while beach days are embraced in a bikini. Friends’ weddings demand dressing up. Carnival turns you into a playful cat, but you dazzle in glitter on New Year’s Eve. Theater
Life is pure theater. To live is to act on the stage of life.
During my teenage years, I participated in a high-school theater group. The year was filled with rehearsals and the process of making character choices. I had many doubts about my talent, but I wanted to explore the characters from the inside—how they lived, felt, and navigated their emotions. That’s why I wanted to be a part of it.
People live. We express ourselves, resolve our doubts and conflicts, and experience comedy and tragedy. We are people and characters. In her song, La Lupe says, “Theater, yours is pure theater, falsehood well-rehearsed, studied simulacrum.”
Hence, the theatrical tool —theater—provides an unparalleled learning opportunity by rehearsing life. It’s not about being professional actors or actresses, but about creating distance, delving into other characters, and recognizing aspects of ourselves in the daring, brave, doubtful, sexual, courageous, fun, crazy, responsible… because we have a little or a lot of everything.
Theatre is not merely interpretation; it is connected to emotions, the joy, enthusiasm, and generosity of immersing oneself in character, art, freedom, society, and culture.
Countess of Castiglione, 1837-1899
Change emerges from reflection and insight but also materializes when we put our bodies and lives into action. It happens when we find the words to express our desires and identity, and this ability is honed through practice. Happiness involves learning to exist authentically, doing what we want, and daring to push the limits we set for ourselves.
We all wish to be perfect, to match the ideals we envision, or even worse, to match how others have envisioned us. As a tool, theatre teaches us to detach ourselves from idealized images and instead embrace and adjust to our authentic selves.
It may seem contradictory— theater (and photography), while enabling us to rehearse stereotypical behaviors, also empowers us to reject them and explore new potential characters, embracing fresh life spaces where we can choose who we truly want to be. That’s what life is about.
Engaging in theatre allows us to shed our assigned roles, conserving energy by not investing in characters that demand too much effort. It liberates us to play, sing, laugh, and chat—in essence, to act as we please.
In his book The Conquest of Happiness, the philosopher Bertrand Russell stated, “To ignore our opportunities for knowledge, imperfect as they are, is like going to the theatre and not listening to the play. The world is full of things that are tragic or comic, heroic or bizarre or surprising, and those who fail to be interested in the spectacle that it offers are forgoing one of the privileges that life has to offer.”
We invite you to explore the transformative experience IMAGE AND THEATRE (Coming soon in English), a workshop that blends contemporary photography and theatrical techniques. Join us to express yourself and dare to discover all your different versions.
