Theta Alpha Phi address

It took a great amount of time to tack down what I wanted to say to all of you tonight. This problem emerged up partially from the fact that it is very difficult to describe this distinct year of OBU theatre. You could phrase  it as  a great amount of change, frustration, waiting,  a great tempest, a fairy tale gone completely wrong, or utter and complete chaos. Our season has twisted and pulled  us in many different directions. We opened with a night of scenes to connect the freshman to their older counterparts over the next few years. We’ve tackled the Bard, under the direction of a true  Shakespearean actor, and miraculously survived his tempest. The Directing class explored  a great range of work with their one acts, showcasing the vast scope of ideas and genres that theatre can encompass. Godot challeneged our previous conceptions of theatre, by rejecting the ideas of a “good play” with no complex plot or emotional journey for the characters. Finally, Once Upon a Mattress reminded us that theatre is nothing, if we don’t simply enjoy sharing these stories written for us. No season is perfect, nor should it ever aim to be so. We should only aim to grasp our complex craft better day by day.

            Through the past four years, people have come and  gone, and this year will be no different. But one thing that holds us together is the sense of family within our department. Call it what you will, comrades, partners in crime, company – theatre is all about the cohesion of the ensemble, not just the actors, but the entire company. We take the time tonight to remember that even though we are all unique, opinionated, outspoken, spontaneous, independent, we are nothing if we do not take the time to nurture relationships within our artistic family.

            As this year draws to a close, I urge you to look outside of yourselves, see the bigger picture. Yes, you will be going out into the claws of professional theatre with your claws sharpened, but this art is too fragile for the idea of “every man for himself”. Today’s competition may be your next fellow actor. Even though we are fighting for the same roles, the same jobs, we still have a common goal, or hopefully we do. We are the artists who tell humanity’s stories, their hopes, dreams, failings, and needs. Our cause is the human cause – To create awareness of our current state and people. To reach out and dare people to care about others, to force change within our brief two hours traffic on the stage.

            This business is an honor. who can say that they get up every day to walk in another’s shoes,  to speak shakespeare’s words, to make a child laugh, to show another point of view that would otherwise go unnoticed. Who gets to do that for their life? That’s why we are willing to work long hours, go to classes in the day, rehearse long into the night, because we are curious, because we need to.

            As Anne Bogart states, the greater reason for participating in this craft, in this art, to remember and discover, over and over again. That is why even though technology and culture changes rapidly, the practice of theatre has held on and will hold on. For we will never stop learning, or forming new schemas for understanding life on earth. That’s not to be taken as an idea of  defeat, but exciting, because everything we learn today is just the foundation for tomorrow. Tonight, we recognize all that we have explored together, as an ensemble of artists and anxiously await what we will discover next.