I’ve been thinking about this question for a long time but didn’t make the connection until recently. A lot of people will answer the same thing when asked “why do you perform?” The answer generally leads to “to tell a story.” But I’m not quite satisfied with that answer. I kept asking why people like to tell stories? Why people like to listen to stories?
During one of my musical classes, as we were watching a video of Kate Baldwin singing the song “Time Stops”, I suddenly realised that the story being told is just the surface of what we hear. But deep down, what’s more important is that story evokes emotions. And emotions are everything.
The whole point of performing and story telling is all about evoking emotions in the performers and the audience!
We perform because we want to connect with people. We connect via our emotions. We use stories as a medium to send out emotions. It’s a human thing that happens on a daily basis. It’s so simple but also the hardest thing to do.
All the wonderful things evoke tremendous emotions in us be it a musical, an Apple product, or Disneyland. We like a song, a product, or a place because it makes us feel a certain way. They all were very well thought and carefully put together to evoke emotions in us. As Walt Disney puts it, making magic.
Emotions are strongly tied to our memories. Something that creates magic keeps people hooked and will be remembered for a long time. We use emotions to remember people and events; we remember someone who is always angry, or cries when they laugh, or makes you feel loved.
Emotions are the core of human experience. Stories bring us closer to each other. Emotions bind us together.
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