哭是可以的 It's okay to cry

做戲劇的人，總會觸碰不少情緒。

本質上，戲劇是須透過情感作表達的藝術媒介，
而參與戲劇的人，又必須以自身的血肉情感來投入這個媒介。

有些人害怕戲劇，因它可以赤裸裸地打開情緒的大門。
有些人喜歡戲劇，因視它為處理和宣泄情緒的窗口。

帶領戲劇工作坊的人，有時會在這「害怕」與「喜歡」之間掙扎，
一方面了解人需要有適當途徑觸碰自己的情緒，
一方面又害怕不懂得處理參與者的情緒──而且特別害怕看到人流淚……

好友最近在一次分享中說她從某段經歷中明白到：It’s okay to cry（哭是可以的）。
另一友人隨即道出一個容易被忽略的事實──哭，與笑、怒、愁等一樣，都只是一種情緒的表達而已，都是有需要的。

只是我們往往習慣了一哭就聽到：
「唔好喊啦！」
甚或
「喊咩呀喊，無鬼用！」

也許我們要學習的不是如何設法遏止眼淚，
而是去學習如何不害怕流淚，
如何去處理流淚背後的喜怒哀樂愛惡恨，
使人得以為人，生命變得完整；
使戲劇得以為戲劇，不會索然無味。

Drama people always touch on their emotions. 

By nature, drama is an art form that relies on the expression of emotions.

People participating in drama must engage their body, mind and emotions.

 

Some people are afraid of drama because it can open the doors to their emotions, nakedly.

Some people like drama because it can become a window for airing and dealing with their emotions.

 

People leading drama workshops sometimes struggle between such fear and fondness.

On the one hand, they are aware of people’s needs for suitable ways of touching their emotions.

One the other hand, they are afraid of not being able to handle the participants’ emotions – and they are particularly afraid of seeing people cry…

 

A good friend recently shared how she came to understand: It’s okay to cry.

Another friend quickly pointed out a fact that is often neglected – crying, just like laughing, anger and sadness, is only one kind of emotions. They are all necessary.

However, we are used to hearing these whenever we cry:

“Don’t cry!”

or even

“You are so useless!”

Maybe what we need to learn is not how to suppress our tears,

but to be unafraid of crying,

and to deal with the different kinds of emotions behind crying.

This way, we can make humans truly human, and life truly complete.

This way, we can make drama truly drama and not just some bland stories.