Why Watching Live Theater Makes Us Better People
With the thousands upon thousands of live theatre performances that happen every year, one has to wonder what keeps people coming back to see them again and again. For many of us, it is the exhilarating entertainment that watching a live show provides, for others it is the emotional connection that they have to the performing arts.
Regardless of the reason, live theatre has been around for hundreds of years and is still going strong today and the impacts that theatre can have on an individual are unlike anything else.
Whether you’re watching a professional musical on Broadway, or a brand-new play at a small local theatre company, the mental and emotional impacts that those shows have remain the same and they really can change who we are as human beings.
In a world filled with so much negativity and hardship, theatre finds a way to bring hundreds of people together in one place, for the purpose of enjoying a play or a musical, even if it is only for two hours. It is a place where people can turn their phones off, block out the outside world, and just share that enjoyment of a live theatre performance. When you invest yourself in watching a show, all other thoughts truly disappear, even after the show is over.
As you watch a theatre performance, whether you realize it or not, you are forming connections with the characters. Those connections can lead you to empathizing with them and even the characters around them, and in turn, it enhances our understanding of humanity. As Erickson Living put it in an article about the benefits of theatre on the mind, “the inclusion of human conflict in many plays helps people relate to each other while providing subtle guidance in our own personal relationships,”.
Theatre pushes boundaries when it comes to covering societal topics or issues. Modern shows reflect our current society, while older shows have messages that can still apply to us today. From a musical about the planes being grounded during 9/11 to a musical about a shoe company making shoes for drag queens, theatre addresses heavy, sometimes awkward topics, in the most entertaining ways possible.
One of the most popular musicals out at the moment, called Dear Evan Hansen, covers the topic of the detriments of social media on an anxious teen and the very heavy topic of suicide. Since opening in 2015, the musical has been recognized around the world. The main message of the show, “you will be found” has taken social media by storm, as suicide is such a prevalent topic among our generation. It has helped so many people in a time like this, to have a musical that they can truly connect with.
Now, at this point you may be thinking that these impacts can come from film or television since these topics can be covered on those platforms as well, but what you may not realize is that the live aspect of theatre has actually proven to enhance the comprehension of other feelings as well as literary knowledge and tolerance. Plus theres nothing like getting dressed up to go downtown to professional theatre to see a show, you can’t do that with a movie or tv show.
There is nothing that compares to the powers of the performing arts. Local or international, plays and musicals have the ability to reach audiences across the world and make changes in society. Watching live theatre can enhance who we are as people and give us a passion to invest our time in. Whether you’ve only seen one play in your life, or you have season tickets to your favorite theatre company, theatre can impact us all. So if you’re looking for something new to do in your town or want to see these impacts for yourself, go see a play or musical, it might just change your life.
