Theatre: A Microcosm of Life

by Deborah Tobola

When new actors come into a Poetic Justice Project production, I tell them, “This can change your life!” Our actors have been incarcerated in juvenile facilities, jails, and/or prisons. Most have no previous stage experience, so they do not know that theatre is a microcosm of life.

In order to succeed in theatre, I tell them, you need to make a commitment to the play, the director, and fellow cast and crew members. Keeping that commitment involves a willingness to explore your own vulnerability. It means studying lines and showing up — on time — for rehearsals.

Some new actors think missing a rehearsal is no big deal if they just have a small part and they already know their lines. Not true. One thing theatre teaches an actor is that even if you’re the star, there is no star. Theatre is a we’re-all-in-this-together enterprise. A theatre production is a tapestry woven of talent and collaboration. Everyone’s color, design, and texture counts.

Like life, theatre can be frustrating, demanding, and infuriating. Maybe this is part of what makes it so transformative for our actors. Yes, you can quit a production if it seems too difficult. Or you can keep going, even though you might fail, or the play might fail. Or the play might fail because of you!

So if you stick with it, even though it’s hard and even though you might fail, you will be rewarded with the magic of theatre. You will begin to enjoy the process of acting. You will look for ways to improve your performance. Working together toward a goal creates intimacy. Perhaps they were total strangers when you joined the cast, but soon your fellow actors feel like part of a large extended family.

Your trust in them will deepen the longer you work with them. You will learn to “have their backs” with missed cues, misplaced props, whatever may befall you. And they will have yours. The sweet reward of a successful production — triumphing together to deliver a story, moving audiences to laughter and tears — is not an everyday event for most people. But it is available . . . if you answer the next casting call.

You think you’re just signing up for a theatre production. But along with acting, you get to practice making and keeping a commitment, doing your homework, showing up on time, risking failure, collaborating, trusting others, and sharing victory. All of these skills translate into successful re-entry.

No wonder our actors say they gain unexpected things from being in a play, things like “ongoing sense of achievement,” “enormous self-esteem,” “bonds with humanity,” “able to come out of my comfort zone,” “patience,” “life-long friendships,” “feel responsibility to all walks of life,” and “amazing, the experience of a lifetime.”

Not bad for a leisure time activity.