Growing up in a family geared toward the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field, the performing arts wasn’t something they took seriously. The idea of one of us siblings going into the performing arts worried my parents. “Walang pera doon” is the usual argument I would hear, and it was something I agreed with for many years. This is why I always ignored the performing arts because I was convinced it wasn’t something that would benefit me.
(You won’t make money there.)
As someone who was set to take a STEM-related degree program, theater was something that I, along with many others, deemed too ridiculous to join. It was only when I stumbled upon my high school’s theater guild, and immersed myself within it, that I realized those negative assumptions were meaningless and my mindset was wrong.
From experience, people who get into theater often know the risk of their profession. The fatigue from performing and the danger of speaking your mind in this current administration are enough to steer people away from it. At first, I saw these individuals as crazy—spending days writing, directing, and rehearsing for a performance that would last only a couple of hours was something I couldn’t wrap my head around.
I failed to realize that within those couple of hours, those who are silenced have their stories heard while the dead are given new life—if only during their moments on stage. The auditorium became a safe space for the performers to express what they have in mind through movement and dialogue, and it became a medium in which the audience may hear the stories of those forgotten. This safe space eventually became mine as well, both as a performer and as a member of the audience.
As a performer, it is my responsibility to research the material and perform it to the audience in a manner that they can understand. Due to this research, I have learned several things regarding the current state of this society; several areas that may or may have not been forgotten due to the influx of information in the digital age. When performing, I must be sensitive not only to the topic, but also to those watching and those performing.
As part of the audience, I must be kind and humble, listening to the opinions with an open mind. I learned not to only look at the aesthetics, but rather look deeper into the meaning and all underlying messages in the performance. Of course, the effort of those involved in the production must also be remembered.
Fusing these two together, I realized that what I learned from theater can also be applied to STEM. Saying that STEM and the performing arts are polar opposites is something that is often accepted in our current society. It was something I, too, accepted for quite some time. However, you start to realize that they often overlap. The discipline and the knack for problem solving in STEM is easily applied in theater; and the creativity and the expression of theater can be applied to STEM. This was something I started to realize that as a performer and as a member of the audience after hours of rehearsals and watching plays.
I have since moved on from theater, branching out to different aspects of life such as journalism. I cannot, however, forget about it. All the busy nights writing scripts and critiquing plays helped form the person I am today. “Walang pera doon” is a rather irrelevant statement because theater is not just about money. It is about passion, dedication, and expression. The lessons and values from theater are embossed into my personality, staying with me even once the curtains close and the lights turn off.
