Last Thursday we had a guest speaker at
FAIR Forum. Lue Douthit is the director of Literary Development and
Dramaturgy at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. She said a number of
things that were of interest to me (my note taking chunk of paper is
sitting with my script in the SM office – the one day I forget to
bring it home with me....oh well for another blog post) one in
particular dealt with the human brain and the act of watching live
theatre. I've always been a huge believer that live theatre is far
better than television and I think a fair amount of people agree but
why? That has always been the question and as it turns out science is
starting to provide some answers.
There have been countless studies
focusing on the brain and its various functions but as many studies
as there have been there have been that many more questions asked -
it really is an organ we know very little about. A study Lue read
talked about how the brain reacts to different types of stimulation.
The study detailed that while watching live theatre the brain reacts
as though it is actually doing what is being observed. Tiny neurons
firing and reacting just as if the observer were a participant in the
onstage action. In the case of television (another watched form of
entertainment) the brain and those tiny neurons essentially remain
asleep. They don't react. This sit doing nothing. I found this simply
fascinating.
Speaking of brains; mine feels like it
is in overdrive these days. We have finished tech and are moving head
first into our first dress rehearsal Wednesday evening. We are also
smack dab in the middle of our FAIR Expressions project which goes up
Monday the 3rd – to say the least my organizing/tracking
capabilities are being stretched to their limits. This brain is ready
for shows to open so it can relax and enjoy the ride.
For lack of being able to photograph my
brain let alone anyone else's, this photograph of my hat shall have to
suffice – it keeps my brain from frying like and egg when we are
onstage during the day.
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