Many actors/dancers etc., feel you shouldn't bring emotional baggage into the theatre, that it will get in the way. That's the stuff they want to leave outside. Now, while it's true you don't want to bring things in that will interfere with your performance, petty worries, arguments you've had, depression from life's troubles, often those are just the things you do need for your performance to be real. If you can use those situations in a constructive way, not only will your performance be better, you just might be able to work through some of the things that are affecting you outside the theatre.
I find the theatre and the studio cleansing. If I've had to deal with stupid drivers, a refrigerator that died, whatever, the theatre or the studio becomes a haven for me. I get to leave the idiot who has never used a turn signal in his life outside. If a life situation can be helpful to what I'm doing, though, then I bring that in with me.
I watched a lovely school production of "Swan Lake" recently. A good friend of mine was doing his first Siegfried at the tender age of 15. He did a phenomenal job. Indeed, a seasoned professional would have been quite pleased to dance and act as well as he did. His Odette was a lovely young lady in her final performance with the school. I did not know it was her final show with the dancers she had grown up with- including her younger sister- until afterwards, when I saw her crying as she greeted her friends and family. She brought all that sadness into the theatre and onto the stage with her, and it was perfect. Her personal sadness at moving on, mirrored the possibility of being freed from Von Rothbart's evil clutches. Despite having been trapped by his spell, Odette and the other swans were a family, and one felt that, even with the joy of being free, of escaping should Siegfried's love prove true, that she might miss those who were her sisters.
Our young Siegfried had been dancing with this girl for several years, and they had often performed as a guest couple. His own sadness at losing her came to the forefront in the final act, when he realized his unknowing betrayal due to the cruel machinations of Von Rothbart and Odile meant he might have destroyed Odette's chances for escape. One pose, with him on his knee holding her hand to his cheek, and her turned away, was particularly poignant for its reality. Here were two real people fearful of losing each other.
These young dancers' personal lives served them well in the fantasy of "Swan Lake", making it about real people, which is what art should be. Had they not brought that into the theatre, their portrayal would not have been as touching and powerful as it was. I felt, and I'm sure the rest of the audience did as well, their true sadness, their fear of a change in their lives, but the knowledge that this change must come if either of them is to grow.
Yes, wipe your feet when entering the theatre, but bring your life in with you.
See you in class.
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