Understand that none of us is pure, that we are both real and ideal, heroic and absurd, made of desire and imagination as much as blood and bone, that each of us is part Christian, part Jew, part Moor, part Caucasian, part Black, part Indian, without having to sacrifice any of our components.
- Carlos Fuentes
Somewhere in his illustrious career, Sr. Fuentes must have been an actor. Or perhaps as journalist, novelist, statesman and teacher he has found out just how limitless the human experience is.
Being absorbed in theatre as I am, I of course want to think Carlos got his insight from walking miles in other people's shoes like actors and playwrights do, which, of course, he has. His way.
Generously, he gives us his insight that we are not pure. Not singular, but possessing great internal landscapes, from the heroic to the absurd, real and ideal. Feet on the ground, heads in the clouds. That's us; desire, imagination blood and bone. Quantifiable and immeasurable all at once. Given this and the timeless intermingling of all elements here on earth, it becomes absurd to think of ourselves as belonging to any race other than the human one.
Certainly, for me, nearly forty years in theatre has liberated me from the limited definition that I had of myself as I began college in the turbulent sixties. How did a timid, fearful, judgmental, defensive, shutdown, confused, caustic, funny, needy teenager turn into the liberalized, less conditional, non-conformist I am today? Oy vey, what I could tell you. Some of it wasn't pretty.
I could say it is the container of theatre itself; the space, the events within that space, the magic of it, the material explored, all of which would be correct. But what really changed me was the people in the theatre. People who by example or instruction showed me more about being human than I knew in my youth could be possible. Some I modeled myself toward and some I modeled myself away from.
So at this time of the winter solstice when I turn my conscious attention inward, I consider all the people who have taught me over the years. The actors who inspired me. The actors who horrified me. The directors who were great and those who were awful. The playwrights who inspired, disturbed, agitated and invited me into worlds I could never have imagined on my own.
All kidding aside, the majority of the people I have worked with have been people of great generosity, who shared themselves, forgave me my ignorance as I grew, and let me be a part of this thing we call theatre.
I thought theater was this great institution that was a permanently fixed axis in our culture. A club I had to gain admittance to. Now I realize theater is a living organism that we feed and recreate daily. It is an inseparable part of the human psyche. It requires our stewardship. Together, we all carry the responsibility to keep it vibrant. Actor or audience, we complete the whole of it. Playwright, lighting designer, electrician, publicity department, box office, first time or seasoned theatergoer, we are the mystic substance that shapes and reshapes itself everyday in the art form of theatre. Lifetime members of the human race. Celebrate it. Explore it. Express it.
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