Since it's Election Day and we're all, you know, not well, I asked a friend and writer whose guided meditations I've been using for the past few months to create one especially for theater lovers.
I realize it's not as good as hearing somebody speak it out loud, so find a friend who needs some self-care and take turns reading it to each other.
Here's the interview:
ME: Thank you for doing this.
THEM: This was interesting for me, Kevin. I've never had anybody ask me to do anything like this.
ME: But you must work with artists?
THEM: I do, you know, and I've done--I've done a few specific meditations on different themes and ideas, but never anything like this. It was a real pleasure, thank you.
ME: Thank you! So you're going to test it out on me.
THEM: I am.
ME: Okay. Should I close my eyes?
THEM: You can, if that's what you'd like to do.
ME: I'll close my eyes.
THEM: Thank you for sending me some material to work with and some words and imagery. I appreciate that.
ME: It was helpful?
THEM: Very.
ME: Oh good.
THEM: Okay. Are you recording?
ME: Hang on, let me check.
(A moment.)
ME: We're good.
THEM: Great. Close your eyes for me then.
ME: You got it.
THEM: And just take a deep breath...
Place yourself at the beginning of this experience.
It might be you waking up the day of a show. It might be driving to the show. It might be getting ready to go to the show. Putting on an outfit you like. Doing your hair. Checking to make sure you have the right address and time. Making sure you have your tickets.
Stay with that visual. What's the drive to the theater like? Is it sunny? Is it raining? A light rain? What time of year is it? Do you like seeing theater in the summer when you can roll your windows down or in the winter when you know you'll be spending the night in a nice warm theater watching a performance you've been looking forward to? Think about that. Breathe. In. And out.
Are you on a train? Are you going far away from where you live? Are you seeing a play in a city? Is the theater you're going to a beautiful old building a hundred years old or a brand new theater? Is it large or small? Think about your excitement. Do you know anything about the show you're about to see? Is it a show you've seen before? Have you seen the actors in it before? Do you know them? Are they friends? How long have you known you'd be going to see this show? Have you been waiting for today? Was this a last minute surprise? A nice surprise and now you'll be spending the night taking in a wonderful play or musical? Breathe in. Breathe out.
Who are you going with? By yourself? Do you enjoy seeing a show by yourself? Being able to sit quietly in the theater without thinking about who is on either side of you. Having a complete individual experience. Are you with a friend? A friend you've had for years? Has this friend gone with you to see other shows? Do you two enjoy the same types of shows? Do you laugh at the same things? Cry at the same things? Feel moved by the same things? Is this a date? A first date? Or someone you've been with for years. A spouse? Is this a nice night out for the two of you? Did you have children? Did you get a babysitter? Don't worry about all that now. Just enjoy being here. Breathe. In and out.
Take a second to understand that whichever one of these experiences you most identify with, there is a chance they will all be present in that room with you. Watching that play or that musical. Enjoying the experience in the same way as you and in different ways. This is part of why this experience is meaningful to you. Because the gathering of experiences leads to a community of experience. I'd like you to think about that while you sit and breathe. Breathe. In and out. In and out.
When you get to the theater, what's the first thing you do? Do you need to pick up your tickets at the box office? Are you meeting the friend or date you're seeing the show with, or did they come with you? What is the lobby like? Are there refreshments? Can you smell coffee being percolated? What sights and sounds do you take in? People dressed up? Glasses of wine? Conversation happening all around you. Smiles. Laughter. People moving all around. Take it all in, and breathe. In and out.
Think about what it feels like to be in this space. What kind of space could it be? Has this place always been a theater? Was it something else before? Is it still something else during a day? Could you be in a school or a church or some other place that's being transformed just to tell the story you're about to see. Breathe. In and out.
What does your ticket feel like? Is it a physical ticket? Is it cardboard? Paper? Is it soft? What is the program like? Do you look through it as you wait to be seated or do you wait until you get to your seat? Does an usher show you to your seat or do you know where to go? How are the seats? Are they soft? Picture yourself relaxing into them. What dose the theater smell like? Sawdust? Paint? Can you smell the perfume and cologne of the people around you? The coffee brought into the theater from the lobby? Take a second and sit with all these sensations. Hear the conversation happening around you. Look at the set. What do you think of it? Breathe and as you breathe out, think about the experience you're about to have. Think about turning off your phone before you're told to, because you're interested in being an attentive audience member. You want to get lost in this experience. You want to see what's in front of you and hear what the actors are saying and forget about everything else. Breathe. In and out.
The play begins. The lights go down. You clap. Everyone around you claps. There's excitement. You're so happy to be experiencing this. You love this. Think of what you are participating in. A tradition hundreds of thousands of years old. Listening to stories. Sitting around in a circle or facing someone wearing a costume and speaking words that might be hundreds of years old. Stories passed through time to you, here in this moment. Think of how lucky you are to be sitting where you're sitting. So many would love to spend their evening or their afternoon watching what you're about to watch. Feel that gratitude. Breathe. Stay in the moment when the lights are down, but the play has yet to begin. If it's a musical, you might be hearing the overture. How luscious does it sound? How energizing? Do you feel your heart quicken a bit? That's okay. That's a good quickening. Do you feel yourself smiling? Do you look at the person you came with? Do you look at the stranger on either side of you? Are you ready to begin this experience together? You are. Breathe. In and out.
Think about the sound of the actors. Their voices. The richness of their voices. How they move around each other. How everything has been directed for them to do. How they've done this so many times before. Feel the comfort of knowing you are watching something that has been practiced for you. For this night. This experience. Everything has a rhythm to it. Even things that are improvised fall within the given rhythm. The technique is the same. Think about the energy that surrounds the performance. Take in the way the actors move around on the set. If there's singing, notice what happens to their bodies when they sing. How they hold themselves. Notice the way the light hits their skin. Allow yourself to really notice the sensory experience that is being in the theater. Can you feel that all around you things are happening to tell this story the way it should be told. Actors are changing in and out of costumes with the help of a dresser or a costume crew. A stage manager is in a booth calling light cues. Someone may be working the spotlight. The conductor is guiding the musicians. The other actors are in the dressing room having a different experience than you, but it's also part of your experience. You are apart of something large and immersive and ancient and life-affirming. In and out.
Work has been done for weeks or months or years in anticipation of you being here. Allow yourself to appreciate that, and then set it aside so you that you may lose yourself to what's happening in front of you. And breathe. In and out.
Is there an intermission? Do you rise during it to get something to eat or drink? Do you use the restroom? You might just want to move around the theater a little bit and stretch your legs. There's talking about. There's the audience responding to what they've seen. If there isn't an intermission, think about your attention. Think about holding that attention in place while you marvel at the art being created in front of you. Take a breath. Take another. Art affects us in so many ways. Mentally. Emotionally. Physically. Feel those affects. Feel how your mind has been made active, but your body is relaxed. Feel the emotional satisfaction from being around people while not being expected to do anything but listen and enjoy yourself. Sometimes being around people can be stressful, but here, you just have to sit. So sit. And breathe. In and out.
After the show, what do you do? Do you stay in the lobby to speak with the actors or other members of the audience? Do you need to get home? Do you overhear the conversations going on around you as you put on your coat or your scarf or hat or gather your things? On the way home, whether it be by car or train or even a walk back to your home, does the show stay in your mind? Do you talk it over with the person you came with or are you left alone to think it over by yourself? Do you have something to eat after the show? At a restaurant? Do you meet friends out for a drink and tell them how it was? This is all part of the experience. An experience center around you and your experience of seeing this piece of theater. Breathe. In and out.
Do you still have your program on you? Do you feel the way it changes texture throughout the night as you hold it? Maybe it gets a little crinkled? A little softer. Is your ticket inside it? Do you find yourself humming songs from the show if it were a musical or thinking about one performance in the show? Do you think about the relationships between the characters? The movement of the story? The way the design of the show--its look and style--contributed to your enjoyment without you even realizing it? How impressive this all is, isn't it? Think about that. And breathe.
As you finish up the experience of your evening, think about the parts of the story that stay in your mind. The words. The music. The sensory elements. The feeling as you sat down in your seat. The view to the stage. The musicians tuning their instruments. The actors taking their bows. The sound of applause. The food you ate before or afterwards. The sound of the conversation. Breathe. In. And out. Breathe. In and out.
Open your eyes.
ME: Thank you so much.
THEM: How was that?
ME: I got very emotional actually.
THEM: I'm sure you did.
ME: I wasn't expecting to.
THEM: Was it positive for you?
ME: Very. I hope it is for other people too.
THEM: I hope so too. You'll have to let me know.
ME: I will.
Them is a writer and meditation guide based in the Southwestern United States.
Comments
Post a Comment