Theatre

This piece of experimental theatre is planet-wide. Everyone is an actor in it, whether they want to be or not. We're not sure when it's going to end. And it has already started. I'm just telling you about it, so you know what's going on. I'm no director. Or, at least, we're all directors. It's kind of an improv piece.

You can wear whatever you want. You can play whatever part you'd like. You can do whatever you want. Please try to be interesting. You get extra points for authenticity. Lots of feeling, please.

The plot is really complicated. There is a cast of billions, after all. Just jump right in, do whatever feels right.

And.... go!

* * *

The sad thing is, there are people who insist, angrily, that they're not a part of the play. They try to hide in caves, bachelor apartments, what have you. They have few friends, or they only hang out with other people who are anti-theatre.

Makes no difference. They can hide if they want, but they're still on stage. The audience is inside us. It's in our blood.

And on some level they know it. Stage-fright, basically. That's all it is. They'll get over it. And even if they don't, it doesn't matter. It's a sub-plot we can work with.

* * *

Everyone is god. We are all gods. And we got bored, so we started playing. We said, "Let's pretend we're not gods. Let's give up our powers for a little while, limit our consciousness, and see what we do. Let's pretend we're mortal. What an awesome game! There will be real consequences to everything."

"What's my line?" asks a young, lost actor. "What's my part? What am I supposed to be doing or saying?"

"Oh Shiva," I think to myself, "What silly game are you playing now?"

[That idea totally stolen from Alan Watts. Credit where it's due.]

* * *

You were born into the theatre. Play your part to the best of your abilities. Anything else is nonsense. And know that your script is inside of you. Yes, you're faking it, in a sense. But there are real lines in your belly. When you deliver the right dialogue, you'll know it. When it rings false, you'll know it too.

Do the best you can. Even if you fuck up your lines, you're doing pretty good. We'll improv around your errors. And errors is the wrong word, really. But it'll do.

I guess I fucked up my lines, when I said "error". That's okay. Mistakes make a performance even more interesting.

* * *

You can do it. I have faith in you, Shiva. I have faith in all of us.