Why we need The Lion King and Project Runway
Last weekend I saw the touring company version of Broadway’s The Lion King. Talk about spectacular–especially since I know it couldn’t have been as elaborate as the true Broadway version.
Seeing how director and costume designer Julie Taymor transformed men and women into giraffes and hyenas and lions was simply breathtaking. So inspiring. I have no aptitude for the visual arts, and so seeing the work of someone who excels at it was such a deep treat.
It’s the same sort of thrill I felt when I saw my cover for the first time last week. (I’ll post it soon–I promise!) I love the collaboration–the idea that the art director read my novel and decided these were the colors and images that best represented the story. The cover is nothing like I expected, and yet it’s perfect. I’m so grateful to have other people at the top of their game weighing in on how best to present my book.
And then I took time yesterday to watch a few episodes of Project Runway, the best reality show on TV right now. (Don’t know why it didn’t win the Emmy last night, but oh well.) It’s inspiring in the same way The Lion King and Harry Potter and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials and other fine works of literature and art are: you get to marvel at how creative other people are, and feel inspired to lift your own art to higher levels.
In one of the episodes of Project Runway, the designers had to put together outfits out of recycled materials–crazy! But they did it–with newspaper and peanut wrapping and braids of foil.
Every time I listen to the criticisms from the panel of judges–”Your design is boring,” “You made her look fat”–it makes me wonder what a reality show for writers would be like.
“You have one hour to write a short story on the topic of breakfast. You may only use the word ‘egg’ once, and you must incorporate all four food groups.”
You go off to your cubicle to write frantically, then you turn it in and the panel of editors say, “Your characters were lifeless. Your setting was mundane. Your dialogue was boring.” Or maybe you’re the winner of that round because in one hour you managed to write an outrageous memoir of conditions in your obsessive-compulsive mother’s kitchen as she tried to cook for your lactose-intolerant father, your wheat-allergic brother, and your vegan sister.
I know some people shun television (BJ), but I value it for the inspiration I get from artists. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but there are some shows that I know make me a better storyteller. Lost and Grey’s Anatomy come to mind. It’s no different than sitting in a dark theater somewhere learning how a screenwriter, director, actors, and crew work together to tell a tight, entertaining story.
And let’s not forget this one more, very human, element: those shows can make us happy. There wasn’t a face without a smile as we all left The Lion King the other night. The story was sweet, the costumes were amazing, the acting and dancing and singing were top notch. There were probably children in that theater who came away thinking, “I want to write a story like that.” Or “I could be an actor.” Or “I wish I could play the drums.”
I’m a grownup, and I still think those things. “I could write a musical . . .”
Technorati Tags: The Lion King, The Lion King on Broadway, Julie Taymor, Project Runway, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Television, Broadway, Theater, Theatre, Acting, Writing, Publishing
August 28th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
I LOVE the theater! I even go see high school drama club stuff just to be able to get a fix periodically. I know all the words to MANY of the show tunes.
It’s the stuff on a screen that I can’t interact with and control that I get bored with . . . and TV/movies don’t have adblockers . . .
August 28th, 2006 at 5:54 pm
Yeah, I can go for a high school musical, too. Sometimes those are so great–high energy, some really talented kids.
But nothing beats a true Broadway production. I went to my first one a few years ago, and now that’s the fix I need.
August 28th, 2006 at 7:21 pm
You know, the short story workshop at Dean & Kris’s was very much a 1 week reality show. 12 semi-pro writers living in one of Dean’s houses(he has three on the compound) And yes we had writing assignments that would make you cringe. There was never anything that you couldn’t do, just things you had to do, include all five senses and such…
And obviously, I won every round. (Actually, Steve managed to turn in a few stories before me, but that doesn’t count as winning — unless I do it.)
August 29th, 2006 at 1:50 pm
bj, i believe you are just about the nicest person drawin’ air on this green earth. the longest days, nights, what have you, of my life have been spent watching high school plays–who knew that “the crucible” is actually eighteen hours long if performed by anyone under the age of 18, or that there is a version of “fiddler on the roof” that is neither funny nor endearing, just long, long, long. i won’t even start on talent shows or band performances–zzzzzz.