My Experiences with Theater

To be honest, I do not really know that much about theater. My eldest sister was capturing the spotlight on stage with her fifteen years of dance, while my other sister belted out notes in all the school musicals. I was left someone between capturing the football field for Color Guard, and being the dancing tree in the Wizard of Oz. Until I was in college I never took a single theater class, though I dabbled in dance while I was younger. Theater was never really a mystery to me; I understood the concept of the arts and why they were important. I knew that acting and dancing alike took great skill, and very few performers would truly make it on Broadway or in the movies. Everyone wanted their chance to steal the spotlight; that is what I thought of when it came to theater.

Upon choosing classes for the first semester of my freshman year, my only concern was to fill up my GERs. The sooner I got those over with, the sooner I could move on to taking classes within my proposed major, Asian and Middle Eastern studies. South and Southeast Asian Folklore Performance not only gave me two of my GERs, but allowed me to earn a possible elective credit for the AMES major. On the first day of class, I knew that my perception of theater would never be the same.

I was introduced to the ways of Balinese dance and theater, and I know my life will never be the same. From the chorus of caks to the different characters personified through movement, Balinese dance is a beautiful art form. I always knew theater to be the expression of art and emotion, but I had never truly seen the beauty in it. When an entire culture is encompassed within how and when theater is performed, the beauty is unbelievable. Every class I feel as though I am making connections with another world, people I would never have the opportunity to meet in real life. A new perception on the world has formed within me, and I can see both dance and theater in a new light. It is not just for entertainment, but religious practices and the preservation of culture.