LAPD

Our visit to the LAPD left me with a whole lot of questions and reservations about my feelings. While watching the performances I couldn’t help but feel mixed emotions. Part of me was smiling to see in front of me why theatre is such an amazing art form. The power theatre has to transform ones life and to inspire hope. The cynic in me began to question other aspects though. As much as I enjoyed parts of LAPD’s performance I wouldn’t call it a professional performance by my standards. That’s not to demean what LAPD has accomplished or what they are doing but simply how I felt. My mind began to think about how theatre is getting more and more saturated every day and I couldn’t help but wonder if LAPD would get recognition that might be more deserved based on theatrical merit somewhere else because of where LAPD comes from. This notion still doesn’t sit right with me. This led me to questions of authenticity in theatre. Very rarely do you see shows that are written, directed, and acted by people that have lived what they are performing. This was an interesting framework through which to present work. I have seen this done before in one-man shows but as part of a larger production this was new to me. I wondered how this felt for the performers. Is part of the theatre going experience escapism and is this attainable when the experience you are witnessing is one degree of separation closer to the reality?