Innocent When We Dream

Lisa Kron's new The Wake sounds interesting, and ambitious--it's her play about post-9/11 America, though knowing Kron it won't be like anyone else's post-9/11 play. And I liked this response to a difficult question, in an LA Times Q&A:

In the Internet age, what makes theater still relevant?

Theater's operating principle is based on a universal human truth: All of us are completely innocent of the coming moment. No matter who you are, you don't know what's going to happen next. When we come up against that, it makes us feel alive. Accidents, sporting events, deathbeds, birth: That's when we consciously feel the stuff of life.

We like to watch characters because we get to see the way they define themselves, but also what they can't see. Theater is always about the blind spot. That's what makes it so compelling. None of us see the whole picture of ourselves.