In the Room Where it Happens

Ana María González Paniagua, She/Her

Editorial Team Member

“An artist is a little kid who made it,” I felt rumbling inside my head. It was an echo of something I heard in my musical theatre group. It made perfect sense, because artists are those brave enough to do crazy things that will eventually turn into them reminiscing about the little kid they used to be that dreamed of being such an artist. Musical theatre, dance, and art in many shapes and forms have been my shelter. Like noise cancelling headphones, artistic expression separates me from the distractions that cause pain or uncomfortableness because I jump into another reality. Not that burying our problems should be the answer, but instead of bursting with anger, sadness, or any powerful emotion, I could give myself time to understand what I was going through before doing something irrational or forgiving myself after doing something irrational. Theatre gave me a chance to not only see myself in the mirror, but to look around and see wonderful people who, beyond love and passion for what they do, have an empathetic nature to make each other succeed. It gave me the tools to find beauty in tears- a single water crystal falling from our eyes was the pathway towards lasting connections with those upstage and those downstage. Emotions broke a barrier. there were no more actors/dancers vs. audience members. Instead, there was: we are humans who are imperfect, who feel, and who piece by piece reconstruct someone better when we fall. That is the bottom line of theatre and artistic performances, whether I am in the audience or I am on stage, I always want to be in the ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS.