Culture- Comme les Français- Le Théâtre

In my ongoing effort to support the arts and keep myself culturally active, I have been upping my game by attending more films, museums, art galleries, and live theatre. There is a certain feeling that I get when I take part in any of the aforementioned activities. Each occasion allows for a certain specialness- dressing for the occasion, socializing with close friends (or spending some quality alone time) and being fully in the present moment- immersing myself in the art at hand.

Going to the theatre is one of my absolute favorite activities. Theatre is one of the subjects I studied at University and I hold a soft spot of appreciation for it in my heart. There is a lot of great independent theatre in Los Angeles and over the past three weeks I have taken full advantage. I attended: Mother at the Imagined Life Theatre, The Dig at The Doheny Memorial Library of U.S.C., Ruby, Tragically Rotund at the Los Angeles Theatre Center and Meadowmount- an original one act play at the SIPA Performance Space.

The plays were each original pieces- unique in their own right. Their topics ranged from: mother-daughter relationships, to a Jewish archaeologist looking for love, to an overweight Filipino beauty queen seeking acceptance, to a true story of murder, sexuality and intrigue in the military.

While the subjects were largely diverse there was one common denominator at each performance- the audience. That special gathering of people, the excited murmur amongst friends before the curtain goes up, the hushed delight shared when a sacred moment is explored on stage, the joy of shared laughter and the special experience of being moved- even if just a little- by the collaborative effort of everyone involved.

Such, for me, is the specialness of the theatre…

Have you seen any good plays lately?


I am pictured above (left) at the Los Angeles Theatre Center with Fran de Leon (center), one of the stars of Ruby, Tragically Rotund, and Newton Kaneshiro (right), theatre artist and director of Meadowmount.