Creativity on Stage, April 2024
Watching performances, leaning back into creativity, vulnerability exercises
Hello!
Last month’s edition was rather morose, but things are slowly beginning to light up. I am experiencing little joys that allow me to be more present, and live in the moment.
I am leaning back into creativity, mostly of others but also a little of my own. Last month, I watched a Theatre Group perform a hilarious play at Ranga Shankara, at the heart of Bengaluru. A few days ago, I watched a Sitar artist from New York hold a rather modern rendition of a ‘Baithak’, a first for me, and likely to stay with me for a long time.
Growing up, I have been on the other side- I have performed on stage and used to have a longing to go back. But I didn’t feel any of that longing this time, in a good way. It felt liberating to not worry about setting an ambition around performing, and be a patron instead.
Also, here’s a small nudge from me - go watch live performances of artists you like! The energy is something else :)
Reading Corner
I came across a mention of “Sorry I didn’t want to come” on Substack. What a laugh riot. We read about the experiences that the author has when she is trying out ‘extroverted’ things for a year, and how her introverted self adapts to the new situations. It’s beautiful because her tone is instantly relatable, and I feel like I have known her for ages. And as someone who identifies as an introvert, I found myself screaming, “Same Sister!” Again and again.
In one of the essays, she is trying out exercises to be friend strangers, she writes, “Nobody wants to wave first, but everybody will wave back” . In a funny turn of events, while I was at the aforementioned Sitar concert, the performing artist asked us to engage with people sitting next to us, and ask them three questions: 1. What do you regret ? 2. What are you grateful for ? 3. What are you looking forward to?
The intention was to form a connection with a stranger, and be open to vulnerability, and form a community of music lovers who are also sensitive to others’ emotions. In the book, the author talks about participating in vulnerability exercises to get to know someone deeply by asking them similar questions. If I had not read the book, I would have cringed at the exercise at the Concert, and not participated with an open mind- my introvert self ready with an array of excuses. The universe was finally helping me understand things the way I wanted to understand them. I was grateful for both the book, and the experience of talking to strangers in a new city.
All of her essays are relatable, we read through the overtly romanticized narrative of traveling to a new city not being true every time, or trying to make a friend as an adult and failing miserably more than once, and the on-going struggles with confidence and having a positive self esteem. All of the essays are funny, and a light read, even the hard hitting ones like bombing on stage, and dealing with near-death experience of a loved one.
Writing Corner
I found a new writing circle - a small group of people who like to keep each other accountable. We try to meet online every day and have a silent writing session. I like the feeling of showing up, even if it is to do our own thing silently.
I am also participating in an Essay Writing Challenge, and I plan on sending it out as an independent copy. I expected that writing personal essays would come easily to me - that someone who has a habit of documenting everything under the sun would find it easy to come up with stories and conclusions. If only !
Learning Corner
Lounge Corner
See you in the next edition !