As if these things are true…
Sometimes the things that may or may not be true are the things a man needs to believe in the most. That people are basically good. That honor, courage and virtue mean everything; that power and money…money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil. And I want you to remember this..that love…true love never dies. Remember that boy…remember that. Doesn’t matter if it is true or not, a man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believing in…got that?
Spoken by the character Hub McCann to his nephew, Walter, in the film Secondhand Lions written by Tim McCanlies.
This is one of my favorite quotes. I rediscovered it today while I was pulling papers and pictures off my bulletin board at work in an effort to create a more focused environment. I watched Secondhand Lions with my great aunt, my mom and my daughter about 4 years ago. After the film was over, I made them rewind the tape and rewind it again while I transcribed Hub’s monologue.
I love any film, book or song that gives me permission to believe in the things I want to be true even when I know that many times they aren’t true. My heart always seems to be engaged in a wrestling match with my head. I have vascillated between cynicism and faith, despair and hope, prayer and curse most of my life. I suspect this will continue.
But, today, right now – I am living as if the things I want to be true are true. It’s called acting. Also known as the “magic if” – acting as if these things are true. The key is that in daily life moment by moment we have a choice.
As actors and directors working to bring a character to life, we have a duty. When you walk on the stage with the script in your hand, you have a duty to act as if these things are true – no matter how improbable or uncomfortable. Some times the cirumstances we find ourselves living onstage are hysterical other times painful. But it is our duty to act as if these things are true with complete and utter faith.
This includes side trips to the dark side, opening your guts up to embrace sadness, and loving someone who, when offstage, you would rather kick in the shins. Ahh! The life of the actor.
I played a mother whose 4-year old son was hit by car and killed in front of her house while she was inside talking to her sister on the phone. This was a painful role to play. But acting as if, I relived that moment of her hearing the dreadful thump thump of her son’s body hitting the grill of the car then the curb every night for two months – and I cried a lot. And, when I was offstage, I thought about our fleeting mortality a lot. I also got married and went on a honeymoon and moved into a new house and my life was very very happy.
I played a vengeful social worker on a power trip bent on keeping her client in limbo: living in a seedy hotel. While I, as this God-fearing and uber-righteous social worker, dangled the promise of – maybe – if this client is a very good girl and learns to say please and thank you – then maybe – she might get her child back – it’s possible – but probably not. Oh! It was awesome to be that evil and so very righteous at the same time. And this one was a comedy!
Last night, I watched a former student of mine lose his lover to Aids in RENT. It was hard to watch and I cried and my daughter and my husband sat next to me and they cried too. But that actor did his duty. While he was on that stage, he beleived with all his heart that the love of his life was dying a painful death. He acted as if his lover was gone from this earth forever. Because he believed, I believed. That’s the way it works. When the show was over he was smiling and I gave him a great big hug.
I beleive there is a great healing power in empathy. Laughing or crying and everything in between. The theatre gives strangers and friends an opportunity to sit together and feel something – empathy. Live theatre offers us the rare opportunity to confront our humanity and, together, act as if these things are true…that people are basically good. That honor, courage and virtue mean everything; that power and money…money and power mean nothing. That good always triumphs over evil.
