About Me

My photo
What do you really want out of life? Now what's stopping you?

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Child's Stage

I went to watch a “Sir Cliff Richard” tribute this last week. Despite a half-filled auditorium and fairly lethargic crowd, it came across pretty well. The vocals had been worked on and there was a variety of numbers that could connect with most people. More could have been done with the set, although my experience on stage enables me to see past the greasepaint.

I remember as a child going to the theatre with magical expectation to watch characters and situations that were larger than life. I have fond memories of pantomimes and musicals that exploded off the stage and firmly into my mind. Having been on stage as a dancer and an actor, some of the glamour and gloss has been lost from my perception. I now see the cardboard and not the trees. Sometimes growing up has its disadvantages. We loose a bit of the childlike innocence that once inhabited our judgement. That’s not all we loose though. How many things have we stopped doing because it’s not an adult thing-when did you last kick a soccer ball for fun, or lie on the floor and create something out of lego? Why don’t we climb trees as adults or dance with the carefree abandon of youth? Who said that it has to be “this way” for adults? I have been challenging the mental blocks that society has placed on me as “not proper” to stop me doing positive things I would otherwise enjoy. I’m happy to dance around the house and to climb trees, and if I pass a couple of kids playing basketball, I’ll ask for a shot-I may not make the basket, but I’m a step closer than I would be if I never tried.

1 comment:

Rob said...

You should come check out my Blog. Thanks for the post.