Changed
Lives
10/05/2002
The tragedy at the World Trade
Center has changed our lives. It makes me look at who I am and
what I do and what it means. It has thrown me back to reflect on
why I even went into the biz so many years ago and I remembered
it was because I needed to help people, to entertain and help them
to feel, think, and in some cases forget their troubles for the
period of time that I was acting or they were seeing the results
of my directing or producing. My mind went back to a year ago when
I directed a production of THE FANTASTICS in a local Equity waiver
theater and seeing audiences tear up and cry when they saw the young
actors playing Matt and Louisa reunite in the second act: remembering
that the cast backstage were also moved along with the audience
at that moment knowing that they too were caught up in the meaning
of the play and the innocence of what true love and caring for humanity
is all about. Audiences (and critics) left saying that they have
never seen a production of THE FANTASTICKS that was so moving and
so entertaining. You see it was a production produced by a Theater
that allowed me to take the project to new places and draw statements
about the cruelty of some of the people in the world; about the
horrors that exist with prejudices of race, religion, and power,
and that in the end what it is all about is that we have each other
to love and care for.
Then my thoughts went to the project
that I spoke about in the last journal entry: the one that fell
apart because of the lack of trust between two creative entities.
A project that says something about humanity, pride, caring and
love between people. And I immediately went to the place of knowing
that more than ever the project would be made... because it has
to be! It is one of those projects that make us think about ourselves
and the world around us. It shows us the pettiness of interpersonal
lives and the heroics in us all. So I know it will be made, someway...
somehow.
And then my thoughts went back to
what is happening in the world. How the tragedy of the World Trade
Center is literally six degrees away from everyone in the country
if not the world. And how it relates to the stories that need to
be told in the depths of my soul. Our souls. Yours and mine. It
must make you reflect on what you (and I) need to do. Please reflect
upon it... please reflect upon it and then do something, write something...
talk about something... make something... just do something that
is creative because creativity is the spark of life.
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