Cultural Passport Journey

§ December 18th, 2008 § Filed under Cultural Passport, Portfolio: Cultural Passport

I began my Cultural Passport journey at the Daryl Roth Theater in Union Square.  Honestly, I really didn’t want to be there.  I could have thought of at least ten other places that I’d have rather been that night.  I mean, “Fuerzabruta” didn’t really strike me as the name of something that a guy like me would enjoy.  Why should I care about some no-name director’s piece when even to this day I have yet to see “The Dark Knight?”  It’s safe to say that I walked into the performance a bit skeptical.  I had never experienced theater before that point, so I didn’t exactly know what to expect.
The smell of cheap fog greeted me as soon as I stepped into the room where the performance was being held; it was the kind of fog that people use at Halloween parties, so I was a bit put off towards the quality of special effects that the director chose to use in this piece.  The first segment of the piece was confusing, and I began to get confused about what the director was aiming at in creating this piece.  The actors really didn’t communicate with one another, and the scenes were in no way placed in any particular order.
I don’t exactly know how, but at some point during the performance, something seemed to click for me, and I began to get into the actors, and what they were doing.  I closed my eyes and let the music take me away.  One second, my foot started tapping, and the next second my entire body was moving to the music.  My body became relaxed, and I let myself become part of the performance.  I was expressing myself through my movements, which is what I believe the director had in mind.  He wanted his audience to be able to rid themselves of the troubles they faced outside the doors of the Daryl Roth Theater.  He wanted them to become part of his creation; a living, breathing, moving, swaying entity, his masterpiece.   After that experience, I became quite turned on to all forms of performance.  I tried to be as open minded as possible.  I even took some time to watch some of the performers around my neighborhood take to the streets and do their thing.
What brought me to Union Square again in December, was a theatrical performance called “Break Out,” which played at the Union Square Theater, conveniently located right next to the Daryl Roth Theater, where “Fuerzabruta” was playing.  This time, it wasn’t really the effects that put me off; it was the size of the theater.  “Fuerzabruta” took place in a very large standing area, where there was enough room for a decent sized stage, and an audience to surround the performers.  “Break Out” took place on a stage with a very small audience watching the performers.  Again, I had let my senses create negative preconceptions about a piece of art before I had actually gotten the chance to fully experience it.
I actually enjoyed the piece very much.  Break-dancing was always something that I wished I could do, and I would always enjoy watching b-boys break-dance at competitions around my area.  I particularly enjoyed how the director made this piece a comedy, and was able to incorporate break-dancing, and beat-boxing throughout the plot.  Yet again, I found that my senses misled me in thinking that I would dislike a play based on such minute details.  In actuality, the small theater space created a much more intimate setting, which made interaction between the cast and the audience much more enjoyable.
My Cultural Passport Journey this semester has truly been a mind-blowing experience.  I have never in my life willingly exposed myself to new forms of thought or expression because it was never necessary for me to do so.  I saw the world through one perspective, and there was no reason for me to try and understand things any other way.  My journey has helped me to change my ignorant views about people, and their reasons for doing things.  I have become much more open-minded, and have found a new passion in modern theater and expression.
Not only have I become a more culturally enriched individual, I have taken part in the evolution of art in the modern world.  Things have come very far since classical opera, or Shakespearian dramas at the Globe Theater.  Today, one doesn’t even need to utter a single word to portray a powerful message to an audience.  I have learned that through actions alone, one can change the views of an individual entirely.  My Cultural Passport Journey has helped me acquire a new level of respect for theater, and on a larger scale, art altogether.  I am now able to look at a piece and ask: “Why?”  But more importantly, I am able to look new challenges dead in the face and simply say:  “Yes.”