Like A Botonist Walking Through A Forest

Lately I've been going and seeing more theatre since now I know more people in the theatre scene. A lot of friend/acquaintances have shows going on right now and there is a college putting on a Mary Zimmerman piece, so I have lot of plans to go see theatre pretty much every weekend for awhile. Sounds spectacular right? Well, the problem is...

It's really hard for me to sit and just enjoy a play. Seriously.

I've spent my life living & breathing theatre. I had a teacher in school who said he couldn't enjoy just going to the theatre anymore and I questioned him about this because I didn't understand. He told me it was like a botonist walking through a forest. A botonist can't just take a walk through a forest, they see all the different kinds of plants and any diseases. They can't just enjoy the calm.

Well I've reached that point. It's a little sad for me. I love theatre, that's why I've consumed everything I could relating to theatre for so long, but now that I've become an "expert" (for lack of a not so elevated term) it has kind of ruined the experience for me. The only time a I get heart-a-flutter excited about seeing a play anymore is if it's a Mary Zimmerman play. Even when I get a chance to see some of my favorite plays, I get analytical. It annoys the hell out of me.

There has also been another crazy side effect of this... Now most of the TV I watch is reality TV because I don't have to think about the acting or directing. It isn't high quality and honestly the lower quality the better (thank you VH1)!

Sad really in the end. I think that's also why I like to work on new work, because there isn't a pre-made opinion about it. It's fresh, it's new, it's like an infant who you have to help grow up.

I'm wondering if anyone else out there feels like this about the work they do? Is it something that is just limited to the arts or does it affect other occupations as well?