Drama: Being free to let it be

Dramatic: Definition: of or relating to drama or the performance or study of drama. (of an event or circumstance) sudden and striking.

                 Synonym: scenic, theatrical, histrionic.

Drama.  Many thoughts come to mind with this word of the day.  Drama- as in the art of the theatrical arts as seen in Romeo and Juliet.  Drama, such in “her life is full of drama.”  Let’s not forget the use in ‘dramatic decrease of waiting times.”

My favorite of these modern day use of the word drama is the theatrical drama.

I have loved live theatre most of my life.  I can remember going to community theatre with my mother- our most favorite one was My Fair Lady. She knew all the songs as she played them on our family piano and I learned them on the recorder for my final grade 6 performance of such.  Later on, in high school, my highlight of the year was spending my birthday money going to Stratford, Ontario to see a play at the Shakespearean Festival.  To see Rome and Juliet, Our Town, Macbeth, Comedy of Errors and others live, brought my study of such written works alive for me. In fact, it was part of my decision to attend Stratford School of Nursing- just to be inspired every day.  In the present, the last play that I saw was Billy Bishop Goes To War, a gift to my company for its fiftieth anniversary.  I saw the play with one of my good buddies, and we didn’t know it, however, it was to have been one of our last outings together prior to him moving. (Anyone who knows me really well knows of my passion for all things Billy Bishop and Corner Gas! <One of the actors of CG was the main actor in the play>)

I was in church plays every Christmas.  I had a learning disability, and I am sure that I drove every director crazy by my inability to learn my lines- however; I could gesture and use the tones of my voices.  The final year of my schooling in Saskatchewan, I was a part of the student leadership team, and we did an opening skit~ our take on a few of the summer’s blockbuster movies combined.  It was an enjoyable experience and one that I look back on fondly.

My favorite recent memory of drama right now is my experience in Haiti.  Being (cough) almost middle aged, and not yet a parent, I found it hard to connect to some of the children of Haiti… until I found that through my limited French and my ability to be dramatic and use gestures, facial expressions, etc I GOT LAUGHS. We put on skits, brought alive Bible stories and lessons for all ages- which we had the children re-enact where time was available to do so.  Seeing those little ones trying to be dramatic and following our skit was adorable! It brought smiles to our ministry teams as well as the caregivers/teachers of those precious little ones.

How can we bring drama to our lives today?  We can’t always go to the theatre to make us smile, nor spending hours in front of the TV. … however, we can choose to turn off the music radio station and listen to a radio drama.  We can make funny faces in the mirror; participate in a community acting class or community playhouse.  We can volunteer to help out or direct a church/school/community play.  We can step outside the comfort zone and bring alive a new character.

Let’s put some flair in our lives today!  Dress up, throw on that boa and create!