Final Post-I need to eat too!

As a whole, I had a lot of issues surrounding the distinction between performance and theatre. I have found that I’m this weird pseudo-traditionalist yet an experimental fiend all at the same time.  I have no qualms with accepting the idea that everything we have discussed is performance, but in my mind most “performances” are not theatre and it is frustrating when something that, in my mind, clearly is not theatre is just thrown into the theatre category because no one knows where else to put it.  An example of what I mean, even though I have a huge soft spot for Boal, is Invisible Theatre.  My only qualm is that they don’t do something like bow and then run off or tell the spect-actors after the fact that it was a performance when it’s over.  There needs to be some mutual exchange or knowledge that theatre is happening for it to be theatre, in my head.  And I know this sounds ridiculous but it really bothers me.  It has everything that satisfies my inner traditionalist like a texted core, a clear concept and reasoning behind it, and rehearsed actors and it satisfies my experimental side by leaving so much in the air about the spect-actors reactions and doing it in non-traditional spaces because that’s awesome and exciting.  However, since the audience never knows that they are the protagonists and the audience all at the same time the whole concept is lost on me.  I think it honestly makes me sad for selfish reasons more than anything else.  This is the sort of theatre that I would like to do.  But the way it’s set up makes it impossible to be able to do it for a living and leads to me having no career. It’s upsetting that this is the way we have to let our art resonate.  Artists need basic necessities like food and places to sleep too.  Why can’t we be compensated for our hard work and still be effective? So since there is no recognition between the audience and performers I can’t call it in good conscience theatre. I'm unfortunately still struggling with my apparently limited opinion on what theatre is but, I'm hoping I will find peace with it once I'm forced to think out of the box more because I can't afford groceries anymore.