“There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence."
~ Julie Taymor
~ Julie Taymor
Arielle Sosland
DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, EDUCATOR, ARTIST
A tearful mother approached me with her 8 year old son after the first preview performance of Off-Broadway’s Can Do Duck: The Musical. She shared that they had lost her husband, her son’s father, and this was the first day they had gone out together since his passing. She described her favorite moment in the show, the “You Are Loved” song, which she found deeply touching as it offers the opportunity for families to say I love you to each other. While I can’t imagine the pain this family must have been going through, on that day, in that moment, art helped them heal.
I share this story because as Julie Taymor says in the quote above, when we present a story to an audience, we have the power to change minds. We are affecting change by simply engaging audience members in our stories. As a director, it is my responsibility to seek out inspirational, personal and underrepresented stories to create influential art and impactful audience experiences.
The stage is our platform to ask provocative questions and stir controversy, but also to offer solutions and provide inspiration to audiences inundated with overwhelming news and negativity. Because the stage is our platform to join the political discourse, I find it imperative that we take ownership of our work and embed our values into the art.
I share this story because as Julie Taymor says in the quote above, when we present a story to an audience, we have the power to change minds. We are affecting change by simply engaging audience members in our stories. As a director, it is my responsibility to seek out inspirational, personal and underrepresented stories to create influential art and impactful audience experiences.
The stage is our platform to ask provocative questions and stir controversy, but also to offer solutions and provide inspiration to audiences inundated with overwhelming news and negativity. Because the stage is our platform to join the political discourse, I find it imperative that we take ownership of our work and embed our values into the art.