The Power of Theatre

You may have seen this photo floating around on Facebook - it was originally posted by Ron Darling (with Seattle Children's Theatre and their production of Harold and the Purple Crayon.) It's a photo of a performance report, issued by the stage manager, after a performance of that show yesterday (Feb. 1).

This photo tells me that theatre is meaningful and important and life-changing in two ways. First, and obviously, the powerful story in the "Performance Notes." That this story, this performance, this moment when the lights went down made a very personal and profound connection to a 5 year old student who sat in the dark, talking and commenting to his teacher, communicating in a way he hadn't before. And second, that as of this moment, approximately 20 hours after Ron Darling posted it, this photo has been shared 3,180 times. That's huge. That's viral. That tells me that thousands of other people believe that theatre isn't just fun (even though it is a lot of fun) and that it isn't just a hobby (even though it's a great one) but that it is an agent for good and change in our communities. In every community.

And they're right.