A multitude of different industries and businesses were severely affected by the effects and impacts of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, but one of the most affected areas of all was all mediums and forms involved around the arts and even more specifically, live theater itself.
From Broadway musical theater and Las Vegas shows to off-Broadway productions and regional theater performances, a night out watching a professional show is one of the best possible nights out you could possibly have. So, with this in mind, continue reading to discover the top eight reasons why theater is the best night out ever and why you should book yourself tickets to a live event pretty much as soon as you possibly can.
1. Theater Challenges the Mind
One of the most incredible effects and multi-faceted impacts of spending quality time in the theater is that not only that the play, musical or cabaret in which you are immersing yourself can be exceedingly entertaining, hilarious and basically a great deal of fun, it can also be a unique and effective way of challenging both the way you think and that of your overall life view.
Even some of the most prolific and well-known musicals, for example, have a great deal more serious underlying contexts and connotations running through them, including, but certainly not limited to, the following:
- ‘Wicked’ teaches that friendship can be found in the most unlikely of places
- ‘Les Misérables’ teaches that revenge and feelings of hate ultimately only affect you
- ‘Avenue Q’ teaches that everything is essentially temporary
- ‘Dreamgirls’ teaches that anyone can overcome a broken heart
- ‘West Side Story’ teaches that prejudice is intensely corrosive
2. Theater is Escapism
Another incredibly powerful aspect of theater is the pure escapism one feels every single time they sit down to watch a live production and in these turbulent times, this is now more important and beneficial than ever before.
Theater can instantly transport you to an entirely different country, culture and period of time, and almost freezes as you fully engage with what is unraveling in front of you. What is more, movie experts often cite movie musicals as the greatest form of cinematic escapism ever created, so when watching a musical on stage, this feeling is compounded tenfold.
3. Theater is a Social Experience
Just as spending the night alone watching a musical, dramatic play, or other kinds of performance, is an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience, so too is attending the theater with a group of friends, or even on a romantic date night with your partner.
Going to the theater with your girlfriends is one of the most emotional and bonding experiences you could possibly have, and you can ever make an entire day out of it by planning a shopping trip in the afternoon before the show starts.
Live events are far superior to what one experiences when attending the movie theater, from the booking systems and ticket sales to the night of the performance itself, and theater tickets can be a surprise present just as effectively as a pre-organized night out.
If you are planning a bachelorette party, for example, a night out at the theater is the perfect way to get everyone in the right mood before heading out on the big night out.
4. Theater Encourages Self-Expression
Not only does involvement in theater, on a professional level or else on a more amateur level, provide a fabulous outlet for self-expression in the performers themselves, it also provides an outlet for the audience to feel, think and importantly, express their emotions in a way that no other medium can.
As soon as the curtain rises, you are simply another member of the audience and are reacting and viewing what is happening on stage at exactly the same time as everyone else, and you are therefore free to audibly and visibly react and express your feelings in a safe and united space.
Additionally, there is also a developing school of thought which expresses that those who regularly, or even sporadically, attend various different types of theater are subconsciously encouraged to experience hidden emotions that they didn’t even know they had.
5. Theater Improves General Focus and Concentration
It has long been accepted and widely acknowledged that regularly attending live theater productions is incredibly beneficial for reducing one’s stress and anxiety levels, but on a more philosophical yet just as effective basis, theater is also fantastic for improving the mind, in particular focus and concentration.
Obviously, the vast majority of people across the length and breadth of the country and beyond spend an inordinate amount of time using their laptops, tablets and smartphones as a way of entertainment, and although incredibly convenient, this can lead to a surprisingly high number of health problems:
- Physical issues with shoulder, neck and back pain
- An increased susceptibility to anxiety and depression
- Severe negative impacts on both the quality and duration of sleep
- Increased risk of both heart disease and diabetes
Ditching the screens for a night, and instead enjoying an in-person night at the theater will be even more engaging and fulfilling and will also enhance your ability to focus and concentrate for extended periods of time.
6. Theater Enhances Imagination and Creativity
A more obvious yet incredibly important aspect of live theater, in whatever form or genre that takes, is that both creativity and imagination are placed firmly at the forefront of the evening.
Just like reading a picture book as a young child, live theater is the adult version of being totally and utterly immersed in the story and allows one’s imagination to come to proverbial life and be stretched in ways it wouldn’t ordinarily be able to.
7. Theater Provokes Personal Opinion
Often, musicals, of all the different forms of live theater, expose the audience to characters, cultures, sexualities, ages and people from walks of life that they would never normally come into contact with in the real world.
As a result of not having been exposed to these different kinds of people, pressing issues that are important, and in some cases even necessary, to have a point of view about and to fight for will never have been highlighted. Watching a live performance that deals directly with one or more of these issues will naturally provoke opinions and even incite action that previously would have remained dormant.
8. Theater Influences the Way You Think
Finally, but just as importantly, regular exposure to live theater, especially more existential and/or philosophical pieces of drama, can be incredibly influential in increasing one’s own tolerance levels and even introducing new concepts and points of view to how one lives their life.
When immersing yourself in the production, you are metaphorically transported into the minds and into the hearts of the characters on stage, and you start to think the way they do and, more importantly, start to understand why they are thinking the way they do.
Numerous studies have conclusively proven, both in this country and overseas, that young people who are regularly exposed to live theater are much more accepting and tolerant of different kinds of people who don’t fit the ‘norm’ and standard ideal.
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