Paz talks about how our time as natural beings is skewed as
soon as we put a label on it. As soon as we divide it into “yesterday, today,
and tomorrow, into hours, minutes and seconds” (209), man is disconnected from
the reality of the flow of time. So we look for small ways to realign ourselves
with the subjective time flow, and relinquish the captive idea of time passing,
and enjoy the moment for itself. Over human history we have discovered myths
and theater as ways to pull ourselves into that subjective time zone.
I’m in a Greek and Roman Mythology class, and one quote I
really loved from my reading packet says, "The range of myths is as wide
as the world, being coextensive with the curiosity and the ignorance of
man."
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| Me and a cast member in an elementary school |
I think that there is a human fascination with stories. We
need explanations, and we seek them, and sometimes find them, through
stories. My whole life, I have
lived in the theater world. I grew up learning how to tell stories and depict
characters. And through my experiences I have learned how much people enjoy
leaving the structured realm of their own life, and escape into a placeless,
nameless, and timeless reality that is the story they are watching. This last
semester I toured with the BYU Young Company Production of “The Legend of
Sleepy Hollow.” We did the show over 40 times in the semester, but every single
time it was so fun to delve into
another world. A world set in New England in the 1800s, but took place in
elementary school gyms in the 2000s; a world where 10 different people spoke,
with only two actors’ mouths; a world that spanned half a year, in a mere 45
minutes. It was amazing to watch people leave behind their chronologically-centered
world, and simply enjoy the time and space of our world in Sleepy Hollow.
I believe it is so clear that theater,
myths, and just stories in general can transcend the boundaries of linear time.
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