VAPARTS It’s been a long time, but theatre is finally back. This fall, Justin-Siena produced the docu-drama 110 Stories, our first live production since March 2020. This was an emotional weekend of theatre for the performers, not just because we were telling the story of September 11, but because we were live. We were together, in community. It was the first time we had heard applause or laughter or even people unwrapping cough drops. It was wonderful to be together, even with masks, Covid testing, and distancing. Everyone knows the last year and a half have been tough, but perhaps not everyone has thought about how much they depended on artists as a lifeline to normalcy. Where would we have been without streamed performances? How would we have processed our isolation? How would we have managed to connect? Last year, we did eight productions online, including a stand-up comedy night, an improv show, and a filmed musical. We have never before produced that many events in a year (one per month). Why did we do this? Because the students needed it. The audience needed it.
What have audiences missed? The excitement of seeing a show for the first time The surprise of a new performer knocking it out of the park The sound of applause The ability of theatre to transcend a moment, to teach us something new, to bring us together
And the students? The self-confidence and self-esteem The cooperation and collaboration The focus and concentration The stress relief and joy of creating The social awareness If ever our world needed arts, it’s now. It asks us to examine ourselves and our world. It demands we listen to other points of view. Theatre promotes social discourse, dialogue, and social change. Art models for us the kind of discourse that lies at the heart of our democracy—to listen, to hear different sides of the story, to put ourselves in the place of others. It demands we be better.
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