I have to say, even though Glee is somehow targeted to a mass audience (in the US at least) and is a little trendy (which I normally hate), I do like how it’s making me appreciate plays and real musicals (*cough high school * musical* not a musical*) through the songs they feature on the show. Kurt and Rachel’s duet of “Defying Gravity” has made me wanna see Wicked the musical (if only I had the money to go to New York right now), I spent half the evening searching for youtube videos of the musical.

I had a blockmate/friend once voiced his opinion about stage plays when we we’re required to watch a certain play by the TA. He asked, “what ‘s the point of stage plays when film has been there for so long?”. For a person who himself has been part of a theater group, I actually found it hard to answer this but I remembered what my directors, Sir Bok Pioqid and Ron Capinding taught us during my two years in Teatro Baguntao.

Theater is able to evoke emotions, reactions and experiences from its audiences. Yes, film can do the same but there is a difference between the emotions that a live theater production creates from a filmed production, the fact that is live means you’ll never really get the same experience, the same show twice.

Even more than simply evocation is the real-time interaction that happens between a stage actor and his audience. I think theater is a participatory type of media because of this interaction. You just don’t sit there watching and receiving information in a theater you yourself when you react to the scenario communicate with the actors of the production. This two-way communication I feel, is what enriches the experience of live theater and something that differentiates it completely from film

OK excuse my trying-to-sound-academic-and-failing tone