Question: Theater is a well-known phenomenon from antiquity. Performances on stage began in ancient Greece, but in the more primitive tribes it was customary to gather around a fire, dress in animal skins, and depict the mammoth hunt.

With the passage of time, theater went through a multitude of changes, but the unusual sensation of wonder that came to life on the stage that was connected to it was preserved. A person who comes to the theater feels himself so much a part of this marvel that already when he buys tickets, he begins to look forward to it, to sense and experience it like a child.

He comes to the theater, sits in his seat, and feels the crowd filling the hall. The light gradually dims, and in the hall a pleasant tension grows in expectation of the raising of the curtain and the appearance of the actors on the stage.

Thus a unique feeling appears as if, at this moment, you are detached from all of the daily problems and concerns, and are immersed in another life. What is this particular wonderful experience that occurs in people in the theater?

Answer: There is such a thing as the influence of the environment on a person. To a particular degree, it is also typical of animals, and, whereas a person feels the influence of the environment very much, it could consist of only one person or it could consist of thousands of people.

Everything depends only upon how strongly the person perceives the influence of the environment. If a person important to him, then one person is enough. This means that the quality is important here. However, if there are millions of people, then they are influential through their quantity. In any case, a person enters under the influence of the environment.

We are not very susceptible to the influence of children, but adults are able to affect us, and the higher they are in our eyes, the more influential. Fear, ambition, envy and a craving for dominance also are mixed in here.

As we come to a theater, we are already prepared to enter the influence of the artificial environment that will present some unique event to us. It could be that it is not completely realistic, but it somehow is connected to the life of man.

This often is presented ecstatically as very strong love, hatred, fear, and despair, or some kind of bright, historical event. All of this is inflated intentionally by external means of influence and brought to the viewer.

Music is even added that greatly enhances the experience. For anyone who knows opera, it is the most powerful, influential tool.

A person loves to enter under the influence of the presentation because it connects with his life. Even though he hasn’t experienced events of this type himself, he still can imagine them for himself.

We love theater because it is ready to remind us about experiences that we have gone through, and they can even be tragic events, but the deeper you go into the past, the more they are mollified, so we like to look at them. We identify with the experiences of the actors and even cry with them with emotion.

We even are ready to pay money for this! This is very strange. We experience fear, excitement, and even cry and all of this we pay for. However, the idea is that the person perceives these concerns and experiences when they are mollified. He understands that these are not realistic concerns from his life, but only impressions from the show, and so he likes them.

The theater makes it possible to experience sensations like these again and again that today seem pleasant and sweet. This indicates that everything that we went through in life, even the most tragic events, are ultimately sweetened. They are mollified such that that we agree that we had to go through all of these situations, for this was our life, and, in life, there is a place for everything.

This suggests that nothing in life is accidental; every event that happens is a part of the fate that is given to us intentionally from above, and we must go through it. Ultimately, we agree that everything that we experienced in our lives was justly and necessarily sent to us. So, we justify every step of our way because we understand its benefit.
[146022]
From KabTV’s “A New Life” 9/30/14

Related Material:
Behind The Scenes At A Shadow Theater
Rehearsals In The Theater Of The Creator
“The Living Water” For All Humanity

Filed under: Education | Add Comment →