Lighting the Fire
William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” The Backstage Man would certainly agree. His entire doctrine focuses on conveying a sense of possibilities (in the form of a blank canvas or a musical instrument) and then inviting us to reach for them. The idea is that this sense of possibilities automatically draws something different out of each of us, because each of us is different, with a different nature, different needs, passions, and experience. In the book, The Backstage Man, the central character (Marc) says it’s as though each of us is a uniquely shaped filter. “The same energy passes through everyone,” he says, “but it comes out with a different shape for each of us.” Later in the book, Marc is helping a young painter find her creative inspiration. First he tells her to stare at the canvas until the texture, the light, and her own perspective conspire to suggest an image. After a while, she does indeed see a shape forming. “Do you see it?” she asks. “I will when you paint it,” he replies. “What colors should I use?” she asks. “The colors that make your eyes hungry,” he says. “How do I know what I’m painting is right?” She asks. “There’s never been a wrong painting,” he says. Fire lit.
