I was at the opening of "Lydia" at Marin Theatre Company, and one of our subscribers cornered me to ask about our Seventh Season dedication to "The Power of Laughter." He wondered if that title didn't give the impression that we were headed in a "silly" direction. I reassured him that we would simply be doing more of the type of comedies we have become known for. Edgy contemporary plays, comedy, but often with a dark side. His comment made me think about the nature of comedy. And how tough comedy can be. And how many social agendas can be pursued with laughter.
Comedy is often painful as it turns the mirror of theatre back on ourselves. We laugh at and with the characters and often we are laughing at our own foibles. It's wonderful that we have this safe place we can gather to look at human weaknesses and yearnings and loves and hates and hopes and failures. And do it all with laughter.
We can use the power of laughter to transform our lives, to escape, to change unjust situations, to satirize our societes' weaknesses. Of course, we also might want to just let go and be silly.
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