Leben In Der Unbequem

When I saw on the itinerary that we had an option to waitlist Hamlet or not I jumped at the idea. It’s one of my favorite plays and the Schaubühne has amazed me thus far so of course I was very determined to get a seat. Fast forward to a few days later when we were sitting in the lobby for 3 hours, I had somewhat a change of heart. Of course I wanted to still see the show but I had decided that if there were only a few tickets available I would give mine up and go back to the hotel to write a few blog posts. After 3 hours of sitting by myself in the window with nothing but my thoughts and the occasional German person that would perch next to me, I was quite bored. And to be honest, in that moment I did not enjoy it, yet looking back on the time it was SO valuable to me. I don’t think that I let myself sit in the uncomfortable enough, or let myself get bored. I heard a podcast once that was discussing concerns for the future generations of babies because now we do not let our children get bored. There is always constantly some type of stimulant for children whether or be technology or just giving them attention. They argued that a child’s boredom is essential for their intellectual growth. When we are bored, we have nothing but our thoughts and our imagination which is a muscle that needs to constantly be excercise to increase creativity and intellect. 

2 kids passed out in the Schaubühne waiting room.

This discomfort that I lived in during the waiting period was then reflected later that night in the show Hamlet. Though I have to say it was one of my favorite productions we have seen thus far, I had a few critiques and concerns for the audience. After our conversation with Lars I realized how truly important it is to sit in discomfort. There were things in that show that (whether intentionally or not) evokes discomfort from the audience which is a feeling that is uncommon for my generation. Which can be a good thing, but generally is a concern I have as an artist. Take trigger warnings for example. Yes, they are needed and important for people who experience PTSD or seizures, yet they do not allow the audience to sit in the discomfort of a situation. Say for example, you go to a show that posts a sign warning that there will be extremely racist or violent acts portrayed in the production. You now have the choice to say "no" to that experience. Yes, watching someone get severely hurt or dehumanized might be very uncomfortable, but it also might be something you need to see. You might come out of that production with a whole new outlook on the world and your actions. That is what sitting in something uncomfortable can do for you.

If audience members are only going to a show to be 100% happy and pleased the entire performance, they will never get anything impactful out of it. What I'm trying to say is by being uncomfortable for a moment, we can better learn about ourselves, the world around us, and what we think about both of those subjects, therefore creating the kind of real change that I believe theatre can bring.

Willem Ehrenfreund living in the uncomfortable.

Izzy Valdes and Charlotte Fountain-Jardim simultaneously living in the uncomfortable.

Izzy Valdes living in the uncomfortable after she has realized it is called Charlottenburg Palace, not Izzyenburg Palace. 

Lydia Forsythe living in the uncomfortable MID. AIR.

Charlotte Fountain-Jardim living in the uncomfortable, after she has realized there are one too many cameras on her and she will never be Heidi Klum :/ 

;)