I dream of a theater company that changes the world. A movement, really. To draw out a new story from the next generation, to transform our ideas of what’s possible among people. A sustainable company at its heart? Not only do I dream it, I believe it’s possible. Will you explore this with me?
There are three crucial issues I believe to be facing us in the world right now, and they are, as I have lately been discussing with some of my close friends, all closely interlinked.
One is our reliance on hard power to dominate the world – the good news is that this will eventually destroy us, if we continue in this path, just as it did the Soviet Union in the cold war. The bad news is that, on the way, there will be tremendous human suffering. The worse news is that we face other another more pressing issue. (more…)
This year on Armistice Day a dear friend of mine said, “next year in peace.” There were tears in my eyes as I considered the faith, hope, and despair wrapped up in that phrase – as in the ritual phrase from the Passover Seder: “next year in Jerusalem.” Hope for peace, faith that we will achieve it, and despair at seeing it in our lifetime. These phrases bring to my mind echoes of our common exile from a birthright that I believe rightly belongs to all beings – to live in harmony with each other.
Our purpose and our mission is to have fun learning, practicing, and teaching others about alternatives to violence by embodying creative responses to conflict in the public sphere with an invitation that uses street theater to expand and transform ideas of what’s possible in relationships among people, and makes accessible tools, ideas, and infrastructure to implement these possibilities. All are encouraged to join with us in pursuit of our purpose in adherence to our principles. (more…)
I’m live-blogging from the Oregon Summit, where I attended a private meeting of county party chairs and major donors with Senator Ron Wyden. In that meeting, Senator Wyden made a commitment, which his office confirmed: I will insist that the President obtain Congressional authorization before initiating armed conflict with Iran.
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Master Peace Theater (working title) – I’m bursting with excitement about this project. I have been having persistent spontaneous non-sequitur moments of enthusiastic creativity since meeting this morning with Jesse L to talk about this idea. The feeling is familiar – it’s very like what I felt when I recognized my thesis topic, seven years ago.
If this isn’t my life’s work, then it’s darn close, at least for a few years. (more…)