We’re sent to college to learn; everyone knows this. Yet, sometimes students are too focused on their studies that they miss out on other things in life that they could be learning from. For example, clubs and extra curriculum are great activities outside of class that can teach you a plethora of valuable lessons.
One of these activities is the arts. I recently read the Rockfish Gap Report, which is the founding document of the University I attend. The authors of it put very little emphasis on the arts and created a vast list of academic subjects that they seemed to believe were much more important than the arts, which they simply regarded as entertainment. At first, this was disappointing to me, but I realized I should be proud of how far my university has come in this aspect.
People often downplay the arts. They say a career in the arts is “impractical” or that you need a real education. Although I do believe a college education is extremely important, I think I’ve learned equally valuable lessons from art exhibits, TV shows, theatre, music, and more. Where would the world be without art?
This being said, the past two weekends I’ve had the pleasure of performing in my first college play. The play we presented is called “We Are Pussy Riot or Everything is P.R.” and I already know what you’re thinking. Whenever I told people the name of my show they were like “wait, what?” I get that it’s an odd name for a group, but that’s exactly what the actual members of Pussy Riot wanted, to grab your attention.
I’ll give you a quick synopsis of the play; keep in mind the majority of these events were true and Pussy Riot was a completely real, feminist, Russian punk band. If you don’t believe me you can “check it out on the internet” (check out our show to get the reference!).
The play is an incredibly interactive show and starts with a protest/fight scene in the lobby before the audience and the prisoners are taken to their seats. We then go through the trial of three Pussy Riot members, eventually leading to the arrest of two of them, simply for dancing on an altar. I won’t spoil it too much, but the play displays the corruption between Putin, the Patriarch, Russian censorship, and the Russian judicial system. It shows scenes of actual events including horrible lines Putin has actually said in real life and it clearly shows how oppressed the people, especially women, of Russia really are.
The show grabs your attention and makes you think. Our director did an incredible job of mixing serious tones with comedic ones and therefore created an interactive and mind-opening performance for the audience.
If I was simply reading a book or some articles about this trial, I never would’ve been this invested. However, seeing it live and participating in this performance taught me things a class never could. It showed me the emotions behind the event and made me feel like I was there. I’m now more intrigued than ever in learning more about Russia’s corruption and the terror of the Putin regime.
Art, and more specifically Pussy Riot, makes me feel and feelings are what compel all human acts in life. As one of the characters says at the end of the show, “an idea can live forever,” and the ideas expressed within this play will live with me forever. They have an effect on me that I truly believe a classroom setting could not have provided. And the play also taught me how to do a pretty cool Russian accent.
Photos Courtesy of UVA Drama and Barbara Hammond