Over the past week I have had a higher than normal occurrence of reading words incorrectly. A couple misreads were Hornet as Hamlet, Self as Sex, and today, Optimum as Opium. The last one stuck with me. What is going on in my head that I am superimposing thoughts onto the mundane? Coincidence that I thought I saw the word Opium when I was stressed and rushed? Probably nothing, but as a bigger picture, it got me thinking on a grander scale about art and subjectivity.
I had a shattering moment in my young teens when I realized that not only was Phantom of the Opera bad, but it was boring as well(it had seemed so romantic in the 6th grade). As soon as the realization hit that theatre could offer dimension and wit and challenge everything changed.
I constantly underestimate my frame of mind upon entering the theatre. I remember going to see Albee's The Goat, and expecting genius. It was such an awesome idea, and it was Albee. It was going to rock. Not only did it not rock, it took me a while to even realize that I did not like it. I was so convinced that this show was exceptional that I failed to weigh its merit personally. As I went on my way from that show and it gained more press, I kept getting more and more bothered by the hoopla, until I realized that I had thought the show preachy and that it had tried too hard and was lacking in the savvy that Albee's other shows have.
It is for this reason that I actually enjoy seeing theatre solo. I like to have time to ingest what I have seen without the clatter of someone else's opinion.
This post is half of a thought. The rest will hopefully come to me in my sleep.
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