I think there is a value in a public now. Seeing the contrast between how you react, and the rest of the audience might make you think about the why of your reaction. Or seeing the alignment of the reactions might validate your opinion. I don’t think the public now is necessary, but it does have a value. Theater isn’t accessible to everyone and it doesn’t seem right that theater would be a necessity that is not universally available. Perhaps the public now is necessary but could be experienced not in a theater. Or maybe I’m being very optimistic, and theater is a necessity that many people don’t have access to.
I agree that theater does help us understand ourselves. Seeing a new idea and realizing your reaction isn’t the same as the audience’s might make you start thinking. Or seeing someone onstage who you relate to might help you understand why you do something or act some way. Simply seeing you don’t have the majority opinion might make you think about it, and if you do that and realize you were wrong and change, then theater has helped change the world.
Theater has existed for centuries. There must some reason we always create theater. The Greeks used it to share stories of morals and right vs wrong. The Romans used it for propaganda, and in the modern day we entertain and teach. In today’s society theater is rather exclusive. And yet people will pay hundreds of dollars for a single ticket. There must be something special that the theater offers that a $15 movie ticket can’t. I think it is that interaction with the audience and the actors. Maybe theater doesn’t have the special effects of film but you’re so much close to what’s happening, and it is happening now, right in front of you.
Word count: 307
