That man who does not live in awe of something outside himself is dead.
The experience of drama is one of those moments in which a human being sits in awe, wonder, and admiration of something outside of self.
-William Ball

I was thinking about this quote today, as we were rehearsing Fully Committed, which is a very funny, very sweet one-man show. It’s very theatrical; one actor plays the main character, as well as about 40 other roles.

The trick in this kind of play, of course, is to keep it as theatrical and fun as you can, but not lose track of the story. The WHY. Why are we telling this story? How can you be sure if you’re staying on track, you ask? One way to check is to go back, as director Jon Jory would say, to the Theme of the piece: are all of your choices, as you shape the play, true to the Theme? Do your characters have needs, actions, “objectives” or (save me from these two words) “motivations”?

So, in rehearsal, I’m watching to make sure we’re telling the story well, and this got me thinking of Ball, who lists in his book a handful of things that theatre contains, and needs to contain, to be anything other than an inconsequential entertainment.

According to Ball theatre must contain, among other things;

Unity,
An Awakening Of The Spirit, and
A Revelation Of The Beauty Of Humankind.

I mean, it’s funny how superficial the story could be: a fun play with one guy doing 40 funny voices and running around arguing with himself. But to make it MORE than just that, we need to make certain we’re not just going for the laugh. Ball’s right – theatre should be an entertainment, but it’s an artform as well. And it’s the care, the attention to detail, the honest portrayal of LIFE, that makes the difference. A Revelation Of The Beauty of Humankind.

In the end, all we’re doing is telling a story. Still, I want the story to have an effect: I want people to laugh until they pee. Then I want them to think about some aspect of life that the play prompted them to give a little thought to. I want them to think about that aspect, and explore it.

So, there’s our goal. Get the story to have that effect.

And maybe, if we’re lucky, we can help someone to sit in “awe of something outside himself”…

…after, of course, they’ve laughed until they’ve peed.