FINDING THE DRAWER
I am not a very organized person. I believe chaos plays a significant role in creativity and embrace it in the artistic process. And, even if this is true, my memory is impeccable and organized. It is as if I am a big apothecary cabinet, and each drawer is filled with experiences, lessons, and thoughts. Not to say I remember everything I have ever done or that happened to me, but all the meaningful experiences and interactions I remember with great detail.
A few weeks ago, a lady approached me after the show and asked if she could share something with me. She had been involved in theater earlier in her life but decided to follow her career as a psychiatrist and help those suffering from depression. She mentioned that she is not a fan of prescribing drugs as a primary method to help her patients, resorting to this as a last stance if needed. However, one of the things she usually does is to recommend live shows, movies, or books to her patients.
In 2019, after seeing a performance of Invisible Tango, the show I was performing at the Geffen Playhouse, she knew there was a particular person who needed to see the show. It was a woman grappling with suicidal thoughts that, on more than one occasion, had tried to take her life. She bought her a ticket and told her to see the show. The day after she saw it, they had an appointment scheduled. In the doctor’s words: “In the first minutes of this session, this woman, since I have been following her for the last two years, said for the first time she wanted to live.”
I couldn’t help myself and started to tear up a little bit. She had told her patient I was at the Geffen Playhouse again, and she was also coming to see The Hope Theory. A few weeks later, a different woman approached me and asked if she could talk. Yes, it was her. She mentioned how important it was for her to have seen Invisible Tango at that time in her life and how it saved her. For reasons you understand, I will keep the content of this conversation private, but she opened up to me about her previous life situation as a friend does. It was one of the most beautiful moments I have ever experienced in my career. Thank you for that.
Until this, if I had to look at my apothecary cabinet and search for a drawer where I could catalog this experience, I would not find a place for it because I didn’t think my work could ever save someone’s life. The good thing is that there is always a place to add a new drawer in the world of possibilities. All you have to do is listen to others; it's the only way to learn.