Last year, Radius began hosting a "night at the theater" for the MIT community and we continue to do so this year in partnership with Central Square Theater and the Nora and Underground Railway Theater companies. We reserve a block of tickets and extend an invitation to students and the wider community to join us for the show, usually offering a post-performance discussion as well.

Last Friday evening, we attended The Convert, a riveting play that takes place in southern Africa in the late 19th century. The story centers on a young woman and the difficult decisions she must make between family, tradition and faith.  I was completely drawn into the story as was the rest of the audience. We empathized with the characters in a way that reached beyond the construct of the play and theater. 

Recently, Arnold Weinstein, a professor of literature at Brown University, wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times, entitled, Don't Turn Away From the Art of Life. He writes about the power and the value of art and literature in deciphering life in a way that math and science (STEM subjects) cannot. He writes,

"Art and literature are tried on. Reading a book, seeing a painting or a play or a film: Such encounters are fueled by affect as well as intelligence. Much "fleshing out" happens here: We invest the art with our own feelings, but the art comes to live inside us, adding to our own repertoire. Art obliges us to "first-personalize" the world. Our commerce with art makes us fellow travelers: to other cultures, other values, other selves."

On Friday evening, we were fellow travelers and journeyed to a place of deeper understanding of a tragic time in the late 1800's and to a deeper understanding of ourselves. Please join us for our next "night at the theater" next semester.