Ramblings of a tired man

Originally posted: 26/03/2008

Last night was full of procrastination. Amongst which, I had a wholesome, and fruitful distraction in a discussion with a good friend about a collaboration we are about to embark on. From this conversation, I remember her mentioning she could write lyrics and poetry, but not a script. The conversation went another way, and I left what she had said.
Thus, in my tired state, in the shower, my mind floated back to this statement, and I said to myself that a script, to me, is rather an expansion of poetry. This turned my mind to Aristotle, Greek plays, and the Epic poem... which has elements of both poetry and prose.
And I realised this:

Theatre and film are where Poetry and Prose intersect.

To get to the real point of this statement, we need to re-image it.
Theatre and film are where abstract and concrete intersect.

Thus, we can break this statement down.
If a performance is too abstract, it becomes (in a live context) dance, or (in a film context) experimental.

On the other hand, if a performance becomes too concrete (or realistic) it becomes the same-old kitchen sink.
Even a performance which follows the day-to-day routine of a character follows a strange character. Joe Schmoe is boring - The performance has no relevance.

These two opposites need to meet somewhere. And where they do, we find good theatre.

This was much harder to articulate in writing, than it is to think about. I hope I've made sense.

Godspeed,
-th3o