Travesties

"An artist is the magician put among men to gratify--capriciously--their urge for immortality."
- Travesties by Tom Stoppard

This weekend I went and worked at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town, San Diego. I worked as a ticket checker and did a lot of smiling and saying, "Enjoy the show!" In return, I got a front row seat to their opening night. The play had some beautiful imagery. There were gorgeous costumes, gorgeous scenery, beautiful props. There were amazing moments of real humanity, one of my favorites being a moment where the characters were talking about war, and how one can tell when a country is truly at peace based on the freedom of its artists. One character goes into detail and discusses his own wartime experience and they discuss the different reasons WHY one would choose to go to war. All of a sudden the lights and sounds changed, as did the facial expressions of the characters, and both characters started solemnly singing, "We're here because we're here because we're here because we're here. We're here because we're here."

The quotation I chose above really popped out at me. I've considered myself, for as long as I can remember, an artist. And maybe it is a desire for immortality--not maybe my own, but for others (and well, maybe for my own too). Stories live on... Art lives on... if these things are done well. The day to day often does not live on.