Relate Theater to your Passion and Hobbies

During the first week of class, I learned how theater permeates our everyday lives. Theater can be associated with sports, music events, classrooms, etc. Performing is the way we survive. We adapt to changes in our circumstances by making adjustments in our identity. We experiment with these identities that link us to a specific culture or group that we want to be a part of. We play roles as kids as a way of learning about or preparing the roles we expect to assume in life. We also have to play different roles in a complex society and have to know which roles are appropriate for each social setting. While I was growing up, I always wanted to be associated with the “jock” group. In the past, I have been quite the athletic individual who played several of sports. These sports include baseball, football, soccer, golf, and basketball. All of which can be related to theater.

I have played baseball every since I was a child. Due to the fact that I have always been the star pitcher, I had many roles to accomplish. The game of baseball can be related to theater very easily. I, the pitcher, would be the main character or protagonist because the pitcher is in control of the game and tries to strike out every batter. The umpire would be the stage director because he calls all of the shots. The coaches, on the other hand, would be the directors because they tell each and every player where their position is, when their up to bat, and what to do if they are not in the game. The parents of the players or fans who come and watch the game would be the audience.

There can be dramatic events in baseball as well. If a person hits a homerun to win the game then usually he is very excited and got what he wanted. At other times, dramatic events can be sad, for example, when a team loses in overtime. Tragedies can also occur in baseball. If a pitcher wants to strike out an opposing batter, but the batter ends up hitting a grand slam, then that pitcher’s super-objective fails which results in a tragedy. Some tragic players have a fatal flaw called hubris. Some players have an exaggerated amount of self-pride making them cocky and arrogant. There can even be comedy in a baseball game as well. If an outfielder runs down a pop fly and hits the fence while chasing after it, most people laugh as long as the player is okay because you are suppose to know how far away you are from the fence. If the player happens to get hurt while hitting the fence, then you have a tragicomedy. This is because a tragicomedy mixes elements of tragedy and comedy, often being serious in the beginning and happy at the end or vice versa.

I find it interesting how theater is in our everyday lives. Before I took this course, I thought theater was only performed on stage in front of big audiences, but I was obviously wrong.