Go Eduardo!!

Parabasis Posts Eduardo Machado's recent speech. he was my prof a couple years ago for 3 years. Some highlights: I don't feel we are brave enough. I feel the theatre that I see for the most part is watered down. It's getting ugly out there. Let's show it as much as we can on our stages. And I beg you let us stop being afraid of the audience. They are supposed to be afraid of us. But ever since the National Endowment got cut down to barely nothing we have had to follow a corporate model. We have to show profit in non-profit. Isn't that ridiculous? It's like an Ionesco play. We have become Rhinoceri. I know we feel we have to go along with it to survive... by it I mean pandering. Because we think we need a certain amount to make it. But how much are those dollars worth? And exactly how much do we need to survive? Non profits theatres should not sell tickets for a hundred dollars a seat. That's criminal. How are we ever going to find a new vital audience at those prices? Even sixty five to forty-five is unrealistic. Not everyone has a trust fund. Not everyone in New York City is rich. The audience we're missing can barely afford 20 dollars. But if we gave them a reason to, they'd get the money together. I did. We have given into the worst kind of greed. The corporate model. And I'm sorry but our work has suffered because of it. Let me be frank, I teach at Columbia because I need the money, there is no grand scheme or noble purpose, just dollars and cents. And I try very hard to do a good, professional job. But is that mentorship? Is it inspirational? I do my best, but I don't think so. As for that last part, it was not mentorship for me though I wanted it to be. It was at times inspirational. And I did learn about writing, and I wrote a lot for 3 years, but fuck am I in a lot of debt right now.