Day 237 of a year of Kindness
Vicky Bowles, ambassador #28, a former newspaper writer and editor shared her kindness for the arts.
I love live theater. I was an entertainment reporter and a theater and movie critic earlier in my career, in Texas. We have a splendid array of live theater in the Fort Myers/Naples area, not so much the touring Broadway shows but the local productions. They range from top-notch professional Actors’ Equity theaters, to polished community theaters, to incredibly talented students who are members of theater education troupes.
They’re all struggling to survive, as funding is cut by government entities that don’t want you to think too much.
It’s a cliché, but true, that theater turns a mirror on society. And boy, do we need that now. An alert, questioning population is better equipped to resist authoritarianism.
So when I got a donation appeal today from The Laboratory Theater of Florida, based near downtown Fort Myers, I knew I had to respond. Some months ago I saw their production of “The Minutes,” the latest play by Tracy Letts, who wrote “August: Osage County.” This is not an easy play to produce or to watch. I saw the original Broadway production, starring Letts himself, in 2022.
As Laboratory Theater of Florida Artistic Director Todd Lyman put it in his email: “A $10 donation from everyone reading this would not only help us successfully Raise the Curtain but would ensure that the stories we tell on our stage continue to resonate across Southwest Florida.”
Who could resist? I donated $20 to do my small part. There’s a link to donate on their website: laboratorytheaterflorida.com/ (Photo is friend, Melanie Payne, performing on stage).
Science of Kindness: There is tremendous research that artistic expression builds empathy. Watching a story unfold on stage invites the audience to step into the shoes of people who are not like them. Theater challenges the audience intellectually and emotionally. The power of a story can heal, unite and transform. #bekind