Being an actor and mime is for me both liberating and grounding. Liberation flows from the ecstasy of creating and polishing a performance piece (“ecstasy” literally means “to step outside oneself”). As I create, I lift from myself the masks of the mundane. In so doing, I find new forests of experience that spring from the burnt ground of past events. This liberation allows me to look at the familiar or forgotten in new ways. It puts fresh air in my lungs, more strength in my legs, and new space in my heart.
But creation cannot be purely self-serving. Without an audience, its most potent power is forfeited. The Greeks thought it their civic duty to attend theater, to think deeply together. They recognized that laughing and weeping in unity can promote tolerance, thereby strengthening the bonds between us all.
This grounding effect is only accomplished in performance. The sharing of universal experience gives human connection a chance. Being the actor, the vehicle for this sharing, is to me the greatest of honors. If I am true to the task, I speak not only to those present, but to the ancestors as well. To the audience, I hope you leave a little less fearful, willing to ride that train wherever it may go, ready to live well - right here, right now. To the ancestors, I dream that you are smiling.
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