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The Power of Theater

Lin-Manuel Miranda Touts the Power of Theatre in These Times

The Hamilton creator tells NBC’s Tom Brokaw why theatre heals.

“I think that there’s a healing effect to theatre,” Miranda responded. “I think that it’s not an accident that in other parts of the world, people put on theatre and expect to be arrested at the end of the moment.”

“There’s something about everyone being in the same room and having the same experience that is powerful and increasingly rare,” he continued. “We curate our reality more than ever. We unfollow people we disagree with, and it’s easier than ever. Even in the news, we can get a different set of facts from a different network. So I think that the power is in everyone being in a room, putting down their phones, and theatre is one of the last bastions of that as well.”

The Top Ten Reasons Why Theatre is Still Important in the Twenty-First Century

by KEVIN BROWN

#10 Human Beings

The performance of theatre is a universal cultural phenomenon that exists in every society around the world. Human beings are the only animal species that creates theatre. Understanding theatre helps us understand what it means to be human.

#9 Self-Expression

Theatre teaches us how to express ourselves more effectively. It develops our ability to communicate our thoughts and feelings to others, improving our relationships and improving the world around us.

#8 Self-Knowledge

Theatre teaches us about ourselves. It helps us understand how our minds and the minds of others work. It helps us to see how the environments in which we live affect who we are and who we will become.

#7 History

Theatre is a great way to lean about history. Rather than learning history from reading it in a dusty textbook, theatre makes history come alive right before our eyes. Theatre makes learning about history fun.

#6 The Body

Theatre reminds us that, even in this ever-changing digital age, there is a human body at the center of every digital transaction. Accounting for the body in the design of the future will help us make technology that works for us rather than us working for technology.

#5 Globalization

Theatre helps us understand people from cultures other than our own. We can learn a lot about people from cultures all around the world by studying their performance traditions. In doing so, we can learn to be less ethnocentric, and more accepting of others.

#4 Self-Empowerment

Performance permeates every aspect of our everyday lives. Power relationships are constructed through performances. Understanding how performances unfold around us can help us to recognize and take control of the power dynamics that affect us.

#3 Social Change

Theatre is a cultural space where society examines itself in a mirror. Theatre has long been looked at as a laboratory in which we can study the problems that confront society and attempt to solve those problems.

#2 Education

Theatre is a great way to learn. Going to the theatre teaches us about people, places, and ideas to which we would not otherwise be exposed. Learning in a theatrical setting makes learning fun.

#1 Creativity

Theatre helps us to develop our creativity. As our education system increasingly puts an emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math, we cannot forget the importance of art. Let’s put the “STE(A)M” back in “STEM!”

Dr. Kevin Brown is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Missouri, Columbia. He has published in Theatre Journal, International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Popular Entertainment Studies, Journal of Religion and Theatre, Journal of Popular Music Studies, Puppetry International, and Kajian Malaysia.