I got in a little bit ago, after going with Kyle to see "Wit" (or "W;t" depending on who you ask) at the local junior college -- damn, I had forgotten how amazing a play that is. This is the second time I've seen it live, and it still blows me away. (There is a made-for-TV version, but it sucks in comparison, it's all maudlin and thus loses the whole point of the play.)
Wit is, in the most basic sense, about a high-ranking prof dying of cancer. On a more profound level, it subtly touches on a huge range of philosophical questions about life -- rarely offering more than suggestions as to what an answer might be, but forcing the audience to silently ask themselves. One theme that I feel strongly about is the concept of how time appears to stand still through much of life, yet we have a horrifyingly brief chance to utilize it before the final curtain; the question is, how ought we as individuals spend what we have? Doing "well" in life is certainly important, but how much kindness and joy should one sacrifice in the effort?
The question of how to dedicate one's brief time is very close to me as I've come so incredibly close to death at times myself. I know what it is like to lie in a bed wondering whether I will survive the night, wondering how it is that the clock doesn't seem to move and yet so many years have slipped by. I've always been perplexed by those that choose to live unhappily or without finding any interest in life, because experience has taught me that we have very little chance to "live" life before it is snatched away. Situations that feel like they're just temporary have an amazing way to stretch on for years, and the next thing you know, you've wasted your entire existence being miserable because you always believed (in a desperate yet emotionally dulled way) things would improve on their own.
With so many "dress rehearsals" for my final hours, I learned a very long time ago to try to live my life with as few regrets as possible. There are few more emotionally painful moments than lying in a bed at 3am, watching the clock slowly tick your minutes away, reviewing your life mentally, and realizing most of it involves either being miserable or causing misery to others. That's where the fervent hope that there will be a "second chance" comes in -- with the subsequent bargaining that, if given another try at life, we'll try harder, love more freely, enjoy more thoroughly... I have to wonder how many that are given a "second chance" actually use it the way they intended, and how many continue along their empty miserable path as if nothing ever happened.
There's a whole lot more I could write about this, but I'd rather lie in bed thinking about it myself. Anyway, if you're in the Bay Area, I very highly recommend you try to visit Santa Rosa to see Wit -- it's easily the best play I've ever watched or read, which says a lot. You can get information on tickets and play dates/times at the MetroActive website.
Posted by moggy at July 23, 2003 12:27 AM | TrackBack
