The Buzz Intro Interview

Maya Torres

Anyone who has done theater before in any capacity is probably already familiar with some of the characters in the show. The director is a diva. One costar takes acting way too seriously. The other costar doesn't take it even a little seriously. Everyone is a little out of their minds. Still, Life is an homage to these people and the art that they pour their souls into creating. If you love theater and maybe also hate theater, this story will resonate with you.

There is no better place to share my weird theater story than a festival that highlights the weird and the kooky amongst performers. Most participants and audience members have likely had their own experiences and communities within this art form -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. These are the people who will most understand and relate to this story. Still, Life captures these feelings within the scope of a low-budget, barely-hanging-in-there community theater company. What better way to celebrate fringey theater than at the Atlanta Fringe Festival?

With the state of the world lately, I've been feeling a lot of guilty using art and theater as a distraction. I am hiding in these imaginary worlds in order to escape the real one, which so desperately needs my attention right now. I wanted to create a piece that highlights the absurdity of it all. How can we play pretend on stages while there are bombs falling across the ocean? Still, Life started as a fluff piece about social anxiety and friendship, but became deeper to me when I realized that it answered this question that was weighing on me. We create art to capture life, bits and pieces at a time, maybe the highs, maybe the lows, maybe a little bit of both. We are honoring the world around us, even if it is dark right now. We are hoping for a brighter tomorrow. We are trying to fit in all on a 8.5x11 script page, in a tiny blackbox. To quote a character from my play, "I hope we never figure it out, so that we never have to stop trying."