Democracy and Theater: How both cannot live without eachother

(Wikimedia Commons)

Democracy and Theater: Two beings that compliment each other

I watched Oskar Eustis give his TED Talk called Why Theater is Essential to Democracy and it was all quite interesting. He started off by talking about the history of theater and democracy, how they both came together the same time (Roughly 6^th Century BC with Thespis), then continuing into the mid 1900’s with the creation of the Public-Works theater and “Free Shakespeare in the Park”. 

From that point he talks about the influences of theater on the public, including The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer and how it discussed the AIDS epidemic, as well as Hamilton and its reignition of American patriotism. He ends with bringing in the idea of democracy being in the DNA of theater and theater being one of the most significant aspects of culture.

Now, I’m not a theater major but I have a great interest in preforming in theater. I started acting in high school and while acting I noticed that a lot of the older pieces really do show different aspects of American or British culture that stand out and reflect that specific time. The most notable example in my case was a piece we did called The Man Who Came to Dinner, a piece written in 1942 about a rich and extravagant man who must stay with a normal-ish family due to an injury. A lot of the dialogue and the technology mentioned in the piece was dated but it was interesting to be able to learn about different aspects of American life that seldom shows up today.

With this specific TED Talk it struck me as super important talking about how theater still affects society. The Normal Heart was brought up and it took place during the 80’s, a predominant time when the AIDS epidemic was taking place and when AIDS was also known as “gay cancer”. This play did more to show the effect of the disease on people, especially the gay community. In fact, Eustis even said that the play did more to show information about AIDS in one viewing than 4 years of coverage in the press. I find that to be extremely impressive as well as showcasing the potential of theater.

The last big thing was that Eustis mentioned the tour of Sweat, a 2015 play written by Lynn Nottage, that is currently touring rural portions of the Midwest including Wisconsin. The play showcases the deindustrialization of Pennsylvania and all the anger, hatred, racism, and everything else that came from big business going away. The show is going to be in Columbus, Janesville, Sauk City to note some closer cities to Stevens Point, and the show was free. Personally, I would love to go see it, it sounds like a fascinating part of history that is made even more interesting through seeing it through the eyes of a character, rather than a report from a book. I think, in all, this play is accomplishing a major goal of theater, showcasing history and culture of the US, and it very much deserved the awards it won.