Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Docu-Diabetic




I haven't seen many docu-dramas or theater that could be considered part of the documentary genre, and yet, I am suddenly drawn to explore the pros and cons of the art form. I watched a friend of mine create a docu-comedy about "Hair", when I was teaching at Westmont in Santa Barbara, CA. It was hilarious! He worked on a piece called "Fear" this past year, and I wasn't able to see it, but I hope it went well. At any rate, I had no other reference to documentaries beyond that and a few television series or movies until now. I am reading The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project, and I couldn't be more hooked!

I wonder if this kind of theater would have a successful impact on the local community of Amherst, MA. Beyond that, I wonder if a documentary theater piece on Diabetes would have an impact on the local community, the national community, or even the global community. I need a place to start, and I think I might be able to find that by locating my local JDRF chapter. I am already well on my way by connecting with other people with Type 1 Diabetes (I don't have it, but my wife does and I love her dearly). Each day I spend dreaming about this Arts Festival the more tangible and real it becomes. And although I have had many dreams fulfilled in my life, none of them have happened when I wanted nor in the way I had planned. This is another dream that is already spinning far from my dream, and yet fulfilling it far more powerfully and profoundly than I had originially imagined. I can't help but thank God for that blessing! I will finish reading The Laramie Project and begin to put the balls into play that are necessary for developing a documentary about the daily lives of people with Type 1 Diabetes. A project dedicated to my wife and her constant inspiring strength!

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