2016-06-25 14:54:52.272	[PLEASE STAND BY] 

2016-06-25 14:54:55.268	[PLEASE STAND BY] 

2016-06-25 14:54:57.295	[PLEASE STAND BY] 

2016-06-25 14:54:59.272	[PLEASE STAND BY] 

2016-06-25 14:55:02.269	[PLEASE STAND BY] 

2016-06-25 14:55:04.278	. 

2016-06-25 15:01:10.802	>> THIS IS A MIC check for our 

2016-06-25 15:01:16.798	streaming friends at the front. 

2016-06-25 15:01:17.797	CHECK. 

2016-06-25 15:01:18.798	CHECK. 

2016-06-25 15:01:19.802	Testing, check. 

2016-06-25 15:01:27.863	Testing, check. 

2016-06-25 15:01:52.524	>> 

2016-06-25 15:29:32.95	>> OK everyone , we are back. 

2016-06-25 15:29:37.87	Some of you may have noticed the 

2016-06-25 15:29:38.869	sound of a child's laughter in 

2016-06-25 15:29:38.872	the hallways, a staffer 

2016-06-25 15:29:43.877	pushing 

2016-06-25 15:29:43.879	a stroller or a father with his 

2016-06-25 15:29:45.872	young son making visits with us 

2016-06-25 15:29:45.874	on Capitol Hill. 

2016-06-25 15:29:45.875	For the last three years, tsg's 

2016-06-25 15:29:50.912	conference has been 

2016-06-25 15:29:50.914	family-friendly. 

2016-06-25 15:29:50.916	And it's so much fun, to meet 

2016-06-25 15:29:56.913	all the children, nieces and 

2016-06-25 15:29:57.915	nephews here at the conference 

2016-06-25 15:29:57.918	with all of you. 

2016-06-25 15:29:57.921	This is also the legacy of our 

2016-06-25 15:30:02.917	time in San Diego. 

2016-06-25 15:30:05.964	While there is something from 

2016-06-25 15:30:07.964	every conference that stays in 

2016-06-25 15:30:07.966	our host community, there are 

2016-06-25 15:30:11.008	also things that leave with us, 

2016-06-25 15:30:11.01	and that's one of them. 

2016-06-25 15:30:12.006	The legacy from this year is 

2016-06-25 15:30:17.014	increased global connectivity, a 

2016-06-25 15:30:17.016	sense that as leader makers we 

2016-06-25 15:30:20.008	can work towards building our 

2016-06-25 15:30:20.01	own theater nation that 

2016-06-25 15:30:22.017	transcends cultural borders and 

2016-06-25 15:30:26.008	political borders, to create 

2016-06-25 15:30:26.01	shared spaces for theater making 

2016-06-25 15:30:27.012	and examining global issues we 

2016-06-25 15:30:30.038	can help solve together. 

2016-06-25 15:30:33.041	Over the past year, TSG and 

2016-06-25 15:30:38.086	laboratory for global 

2016-06-25 15:30:39.082	performance and politics at 

2016-06-25 15:30:39.084	Georgetown University developed 

2016-06-25 15:30:39.086	the global theater initiative, 

2016-06-25 15:30:41.121	by combining the unique reach of 

2016-06-25 15:30:44.122	TSG's international programming 

2016-06-25 15:30:48.122	with the lab's distinctive 

2016-06-25 15:30:48.125	experience in humanizing global 

2016-06-25 15:30:52.13	politics through the power of 

2016-06-25 15:30:52.133	performance, GTI strengthens, 

2016-06-25 15:30:54.123	nurtures 

2016-06-25 15:31:00.118	global citizenship and 

2016-06-25 15:31:00.12	international collaboration in 

2016-06-25 15:31:01.123	the theater field. 

2016-06-25 15:31:01.126	It also honors and intersects 

2016-06-25 15:31:03.12	with the work so many theater 

2016-06-25 15:31:03.122	colleagues already invested in 

2016-06-25 15:31:06.125	cross-cultural exchange and 

2016-06-25 15:31:06.127	understanding. 

2016-06-25 15:31:07.121	This week we hold our first 

2016-06-25 15:31:09.209	major project together, a global 

2016-06-25 15:31:12.213	theater preconference, and to 

2016-06-25 15:31:16.264	tell us more about it, I would 

2016-06-25 15:31:16.267	like to introduce DEREK 

2016-06-25 15:31:22.254	GOLDMAN, 

2016-06-25 15:31:22.256	cofounder of the lab 

2016-06-25 15:31:27.265	and partner 

2016-06-25 15:31:27.267	in the global initiative. 

2016-06-25 15:31:27.269	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:31:28.267	DEREK: Thank you. 

2016-06-25 15:31:32.292	Thanks, Teresa. 

2016-06-25 15:31:34.334	I have been coming to TSG 

2016-06-25 15:31:39.457	conferences for over 20 years, 

2016-06-25 15:31:40.475	first as a fresh out of college 

2016-06-25 15:31:42.454	new B who had found -- founded a 

2016-06-25 15:31:46.459	small Chicago theater company 

2016-06-25 15:31:46.462	that joined TCG. 

2016-06-25 15:31:47.463	I remember the sensation of 

2016-06-25 15:31:51.523	feeling like person after person 

2016-06-25 15:31:51.526	would take a glance at the name 

2016-06-25 15:31:53.517	tag and move right on. 

2016-06-25 15:31:54.511	Equally as strong, I remember 

2016-06-25 15:31:58.51	the sensation of being welcomed 

2016-06-25 15:32:02.512	into circles I felt far too 

2016-06-25 15:32:02.514	young and clueless to be in, and 

2016-06-25 15:32:05.514	being treated like a peer by 

2016-06-25 15:32:09.582	people I revered and would come 

2016-06-25 15:32:11.621	to revere. 

2016-06-25 15:32:11.623	For the past few days as never 

2016-06-25 15:32:12.621	before, this theater nation has 

2016-06-25 15:32:15.629	felt like the nation I want to 

2016-06-25 15:32:15.631	live in. 

2016-06-25 15:32:18.626	In my 11 years living in 

2016-06-25 15:32:19.622	Washington, D.C., this is the 

2016-06-25 15:32:23.622	most proud I have felt of our 

2016-06-25 15:32:25.622	community, locally, nationally, 

2016-06-25 15:32:25.624	globally, and its capacity for 

2016-06-25 15:32:31.681	radical hospitality and 

2016-06-25 15:32:31.684	galvanizing action. 

2016-06-25 15:32:31.686	We've gathered against wildly 

2016-06-25 15:32:35.624	eventual, tumultuous backdrop of 

2016-06-25 15:32:36.664	Brexit and crashing global 

2016-06-25 15:32:41.663	markets, a Supreme Court ruling 

2016-06-25 15:32:43.664	blocking Obama's immigration 

2016-06-25 15:32:44.665	plan, vital Citians on gun laws 

2016-06-25 15:32:44.666	of the capital, and panning the 

2016-06-25 15:32:46.664	camera out , a boarding to the 

2016-06-25 15:32:55.712	last reports from UNHCR, 65 

2016-06-25 15:33:00.707	million people are being faced 

2016-06-25 15:33:01.763	with the travails of forced 

2016-06-25 15:33:01.765	migration as a result of 

2016-06-25 15:33:05.808	conflict, violence, and 

2016-06-25 15:33:05.811	deprivation, the highest number 

2016-06-25 15:33:08.817	ever recorded by UNHCR. 

2016-06-25 15:33:09.761	The theater nation I have 

2016-06-25 15:33:13.758	encountered here is a nation 

2016-06-25 15:33:16.757	that is not in pursuit of 

2016-06-25 15:33:16.759	nationalism or any other kind of 

2016-06-25 15:33:18.792	isms or schism 

2016-06-25 15:33:25.79	s, that instead of 

2016-06-25 15:33:25.792	building walls, seeks to foster 

2016-06-25 15:33:26.793	genuine human exchange, empathy, 

2016-06-25 15:33:30.792	collaboration, and relationship 

2016-06-25 15:33:30.795	building across differences. 

2016-06-25 15:33:33.841	Those who would build walls have 

2016-06-25 15:33:36.834	always understood the power of 

2016-06-25 15:33:36.836	silencing artists, of nipping 

2016-06-25 15:33:38.832	culture in the bud. 

2016-06-25 15:33:39.836	At GTI's global preconference 

2016-06-25 15:33:47.838	at Georgetown, we hosted artists 

2016-06-25 15:33:48.843	and thinkers from 25 countries, 

2016-06-25 15:33:51.834	almost all of whom have stayed 

2016-06-25 15:33:52.833	and participated in our 

2016-06-25 15:33:52.835	conference. 

2016-06-25 15:33:53.878	Profound thanks to these friends 

2016-06-25 15:33:57.925	for making the long journeys, 

2016-06-25 15:33:58.961	and to you who have offered them 

2016-06-25 15:33:59.965	hospitality, fellowship, have 

2016-06-25 15:34:04.062	been hosts in the fullest sense 

2016-06-25 15:34:04.064	of the word. 

2016-06-25 15:34:08.083	There is inspiration to be taken 

2016-06-25 15:34:09.093	from our guests. 

2016-06-25 15:34:12.127	Many of them have spoken of 

2016-06-25 15:34:14.126	their experiences facing down 

2016-06-25 15:34:15.126	danger, repression, and violence 

2016-06-25 15:34:18.166	in their own countries and how 

2016-06-25 15:34:19.174	they have found it essential to 

2016-06-25 15:34:20.166	continue to make their art 

2016-06-25 15:34:22.174	amidst mortal dangers. 

2016-06-25 15:34:22.176	Our friend, UNESCO artist for 

2016-06-25 15:34:28.17	peace, arrived today from the 

2016-06-25 15:34:29.173	Sudan and has been doing this 

2016-06-25 15:34:29.175	work in camps in the Darfur 

2016-06-25 15:34:33.209	region with war orphans and 

2016-06-25 15:34:33.211	perpetrators for many years, 

2016-06-25 15:34:36.211	using theater to do large-scale 

2016-06-25 15:34:36.214	healing and imagine a new 

2016-06-25 15:34:39.259	future. 

2016-06-25 15:34:39.261	As Teresa mentioned, our 

2016-06-25 15:34:44.269	laboratory for global for 

2016-06-25 15:34:46.262	performance and politics at 

2016-06-25 15:34:46.264	Georgetown was founded to 

2016-06-25 15:34:46.266	harness the power of performance 

2016-06-25 15:34:49.258	to humanize global politics, 

2016-06-25 15:34:52.305	something so many in this room 

2016-06-25 15:34:53.333	are already doing. 

2016-06-25 15:34:54.321	I'm thrilled by this partnership 

2016-06-25 15:34:54.323	with TCG, the first few steps 

2016-06-25 15:34:59.311	the global initiative is doing 

2016-06-25 15:35:02.344	towards that future, and 

2016-06-25 15:35:03.348	grateful to have wonderful 

2016-06-25 15:35:03.35	collaborators on that journey. 

2016-06-25 15:35:03.359	Special thank you to Teresa 

2016-06-25 15:35:09.375	, and 

2016-06-25 15:35:09.377	Kevin Bitterman at TCG, to my 

2016-06-25 15:35:12.381	wonderful lab colleagues. 

2016-06-25 15:35:15.385	Whether a peer I revere or 

2016-06-25 15:35:24.422	someone simply interested in a 

2016-06-25 15:35:24.424	global initiative, I hope you 

2016-06-25 15:35:24.426	will reach out to us and get 

2016-06-25 15:35:26.425	involved. 

2016-06-25 15:35:26.427	I look forward to what our 

2016-06-25 15:35:29.466	theater nation can achieve 

2016-06-25 15:35:30.509	together. 

2016-06-25 15:35:31.517	TERESA: Thank you, Derek. 

2016-06-25 15:35:36.517	We are so excited for this 

2016-06-25 15:35:40.52	collaboration and all the work 

2016-06-25 15:35:40.522	you do and Georgia does into 

2016-06-25 15:35:46.559	making the preconference such a 

2016-06-25 15:35:47.558	success. 

2016-06-25 15:35:47.56	It's out my pleasure to 

2016-06-25 15:35:48.56	introduce our presenter of the 

2016-06-25 15:35:49.559	TCG theater practitioner award. 

2016-06-25 15:35:53.561	Susan has designed over 300 

2016-06-25 15:35:57.57	productions across the globe, 

2016-06-25 15:35:59.56	receiving multiple Tony awards, 

2016-06-25 15:36:03.591	as well as an award for 

2016-06-25 15:36:04.586	sustained achievement. 

2016-06-25 15:36:04.588	She chairs the Department of 

2016-06-25 15:36:04.59	design, prestige, and film at 

2016-06-25 15:36:07.644	MIU's Tisch school of the arts. 

2016-06-25 15:36:10.592	Please join me in welcoming 

2016-06-25 15:36:13.63	Susan to the stage. 

2016-06-25 15:36:14.632	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:36:17.635	>> I'm so excited to be here 

2016-06-25 15:36:25.636	today, to see all of you, to be 

2016-06-25 15:36:28.671	part of this conference, but 

2016-06-25 15:36:31.762	also for the special moments. 

2016-06-25 15:36:33.761	We are here at this moment to 

2016-06-25 15:36:35.759	celebrate the mythic spirit that 

2016-06-25 15:36:37.762	is Michael Kahn. 

2016-06-25 15:36:39.809	Artistic leader, educator , 

2016-06-25 15:36:45.841	artist, mentor, colleague, and 

2016-06-25 15:36:45.843	friend. 

2016-06-25 15:36:46.842	Michael has been an influence in 

2016-06-25 15:36:51.841	the American theater for so long 

2016-06-25 15:36:51.843	that I'm sure even he is 

2016-06-25 15:36:52.84	astonished. 

2016-06-25 15:36:54.847	His vitality is a force in the 

2016-06-25 15:36:57.842	arts in this country, only 

2016-06-25 15:37:00.84	continues to grow. 

2016-06-25 15:37:01.885	Michael's contributions have 

2016-06-25 15:37:01.887	been extraordinary. 

2016-06-25 15:37:04.924	The list of his accomplishments 

2016-06-25 15:37:05.962	is too long to read. 

2016-06-25 15:37:06.963	But for me, his most impressive 

2016-06-25 15:37:11.963	talent has been his nurturing 

2016-06-25 15:37:13.964	generations of theater artists. 

2016-06-25 15:37:14.965	I believe a great leader 

2016-06-25 15:37:19.016	recognizes and acts on the task 

2016-06-25 15:37:19.018	of inspiring and encouraging the 

2016-06-25 15:37:22.966	future leaders of our field. 

2016-06-25 15:37:23.97	Fearlessly husbanding talent, 

2016-06-25 15:37:28.966	that is how I see Michael Kahn. 

2016-06-25 15:37:29.975	Whether it is his leadership at 

2016-06-25 15:37:34.01	the Juilliard school, guiding an 

2016-06-25 15:37:36.069	impressive list of actors, or 

2016-06-25 15:37:36.071	his creation of the Juilliard 

2016-06-25 15:37:38.069	school of a directing program 

2016-06-25 15:37:40.059	with Garland right, or the 

2016-06-25 15:37:45.06	establishment of the Academy of 

2016-06-25 15:37:45.062	classical acting here in D.C., 

2016-06-25 15:37:50.059	Michael has always been a leader 

2016-06-25 15:37:51.06	in conservatory education. 

2016-06-25 15:37:51.062	But as Michael's role in it -- 

2016-06-25 15:37:58.09	mentoring individual artists I 

2016-06-25 15:37:59.121	am especially proud to celebrate 

2016-06-25 15:37:59.123	today. 

2016-06-25 15:37:59.125	He has supported and encouraged 

2016-06-25 15:38:03.13	countless artists who have gone 

2016-06-25 15:38:04.134	on to become influential in 

2016-06-25 15:38:06.132	their own right in the American 

2016-06-25 15:38:06.134	theater. 

2016-06-25 15:38:07.134	I think there are probably many 

2016-06-25 15:38:10.128	of you here today. 

2016-06-25 15:38:13.131	I have known Michael for years, 

2016-06-25 15:38:15.136	but I have designed twice at the 

2016-06-25 15:38:15.138	Shakespeare theater. 

2016-06-25 15:38:16.133	Experiences separated by 20 

2016-06-25 15:38:19.137	years. 

2016-06-25 15:38:19.138	The first, "the Tempest," 

2016-06-25 15:38:24.133	directed by the late, great 

2016-06-25 15:38:24.134	Garland Wright, 

2016-06-25 15:38:29.19	and the second, 

2016-06-25 15:38:29.192	"Salome." 

2016-06-25 15:38:30.173	I think these two artists 

2016-06-25 15:38:35.184	helped 

2016-06-25 15:38:35.186	to define the depth of Michael's 

2016-06-25 15:38:35.188	influence. 

2016-06-25 15:38:36.173	Garland, who if you don't know 

2016-06-25 15:38:41.176	-- and I can't believe it's 

2016-06-25 15:38:41.178	possible you don't know -- but 

2016-06-25 15:38:43.185	if you don't know, before his 

2016-06-25 15:38:47.174	passing, Gerland was the 

2016-06-25 15:38:48.177	artistic director of the Guthrie 

2016-06-25 15:38:48.179	theater. 

2016-06-25 15:38:48.181	After blazing a deeply 

2016-06-25 15:38:53.22	passionate career across the 

2016-06-25 15:38:53.222	stages of America, Garland's 

2016-06-25 15:38:58.267	first job in the theater, 

2016-06-25 15:39:01.263	though, was assistant director 

2016-06-25 15:39:01.265	to Michael at the American 

2016-06-25 15:39:01.267	Shakespeare Festival in 

2016-06-25 15:39:06.311	Stratford. 

2016-06-25 15:39:06.313	This relationship nurtured the 

2016-06-25 15:39:08.309	astonishing talents of Garland 

2016-06-25 15:39:08.311	in the beginning of his rich 

2016-06-25 15:39:08.313	career in the theater. 

2016-06-25 15:39:10.31	Over 40 years after first 

2016-06-25 15:39:14.316	working with Garland, Michael 

2016-06-25 15:39:17.31	continues his unstoppable, 

2016-06-25 15:39:19.311	fearless commitment to vital 

2016-06-25 15:39:21.382	challenging theater that he has 

2016-06-25 15:39:24.382	always encouraged by supporting 

2016-06-25 15:39:27.385	the work of a South African 

2016-06-25 15:39:27.387	director by inviting her to come 

2016-06-25 15:39:29.384	to D.C. and share with us her 

2016-06-25 15:39:33.386	vision. 

2016-06-25 15:39:33.388	In this case, a radical 

2016-06-25 15:39:34.385	revisionist version of an 

2016-06-25 15:39:35.384	ancient narrative in her 

2016-06-25 15:39:38.381	production of "Salome." 

2016-06-25 15:39:39.392	These two amazing directors 

2016-06-25 15:39:42.392	book-end Michael Kahn's 

2016-06-25 15:39:46.385	visionary leadership in the 

2016-06-25 15:39:50.388	encouragement of new talent. 

2016-06-25 15:39:51.383	It is Michael continual 

2016-06-25 15:39:52.395	recognition and support of 

2016-06-25 15:39:52.396	developing talent by his many 

2016-06-25 15:39:56.39	acts of mentorship that have 

2016-06-25 15:39:57.397	strengthened the community of 

2016-06-25 15:39:57.398	power theater. 

2016-06-25 15:39:57.4	The TCG theater practitioner 

2016-06-25 15:40:02.385	award, the TCG theater 

2016-06-25 15:40:06.385	practitioner award, recognizes 

2016-06-25 15:40:06.387	an individual who's worked in 

2016-06-25 15:40:10.384	the American theater has 

2016-06-25 15:40:11.395	evidenced exemplary achievement 

2016-06-25 15:40:11.397	over time, and who has 

2016-06-25 15:40:15.386	contributed significantly to the 

2016-06-25 15:40:16.435	development of the larger field. 

2016-06-25 15:40:16.437	I can think of no one better to 

2016-06-25 15:40:20.508	deserve this award than Michael 

2016-06-25 15:40:21.507	Kahn. 

2016-06-25 15:40:22.513	Michael, come on up. 

2016-06-25 15:40:24.51	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:40:24.512	MICHAEL: Thank you very -- oh, 

2016-06-25 15:40:49.61	my God. 

2016-06-25 15:40:50.613	Thank you very much. 

2016-06-25 15:40:52.609	I'm very moved by all the things 

2016-06-25 15:40:58.621	you said. 

2016-06-25 15:40:59.612	Thank you all for coming to D.C. 

2016-06-25 15:41:05.64	This is my home now, and it's 

2016-06-25 15:41:10.639	great that you are here. 

2016-06-25 15:41:10.641	There are so many of you. 

2016-06-25 15:41:17.679	I want to thank you for choosing 

2016-06-25 15:41:17.681	D.C. and thank you for this. 

2016-06-25 15:41:18.676	I realized in these 

2016-06-25 15:41:22.679	conversations how privileged I 

2016-06-25 15:41:27.679	have been, how lucky I have been 

2016-06-25 15:41:29.677	but also how privileged I was. 

2016-06-25 15:41:30.681	My mother was a Russian 

2016-06-25 15:41:30.682	immigrant, a working mother, but 

2016-06-25 15:41:35.679	she taught me to read at a very 

2016-06-25 15:41:36.679	early age and when she would 

2016-06-25 15:41:37.681	come home from work, the bedtime 

2016-06-25 15:41:41.735	stories were Shakespeare in the 

2016-06-25 15:41:41.737	Bible. 

2016-06-25 15:41:41.738	-- and the Bible. 

2016-06-25 15:41:45.735	She did not think there were any 

2016-06-25 15:41:48.732	dirty jokes in Shakespeare, so 

2016-06-25 15:41:51.726	she did not cut anything out. 

2016-06-25 15:41:51.727	She knew there were in the 

2016-06-25 15:41:55.726	Bible, so she cut out song of 

2016-06-25 15:41:57.723	Solomon. 

2016-06-25 15:41:58.725	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 15:41:58.727	Later on when I did Shakespeare 

2016-06-25 15:42:03.725	I really stout many dirty jokes 

2016-06-25 15:42:04.722	she actually read to me. 

2016-06-25 15:42:04.724	Then I went to a school where I 

2016-06-25 15:42:10.814	told them at an early age I 

2016-06-25 15:42:12.813	wanted to be a director in the 

2016-06-25 15:42:12.815	theater, at the age of 6. 

2016-06-25 15:42:13.815	I was a terribly bossy child. 

2016-06-25 15:42:19.858	They said, OK, and second 

2016-06-25 15:42:24.867	grade, 

2016-06-25 15:42:24.868	you can go off and write a play 

2016-06-25 15:42:24.87	and directed about any subject 

2016-06-25 15:42:28.864	you want. 

2016-06-25 15:42:28.865	I said, I will do the pony 

2016-06-25 15:42:28.867	express. 

2016-06-25 15:42:28.869	I wrote a play about the pony 

2016-06-25 15:42:31.864	express and directed it. 

2016-06-25 15:42:32.862	Nobody in that school, in that 

2016-06-25 15:42:35.972	faculty ever said to 

2016-06-25 15:42:43.972	me, you had 

2016-06-25 15:42:43.983	just taken the pony express to 

2016-06-25 15:42:45.972	London and Paris. 

2016-06-25 15:42:45.973	That was impossible. 

2016-06-25 15:42:46.975	But they did not stop my 

2016-06-25 15:42:46.977	imagination and my creativity 

2016-06-25 15:42:50.973	even though I did not know 

2016-06-25 15:42:52.973	either of those things, what 

2016-06-25 15:42:53.974	they meant at the time. 

2016-06-25 15:42:54.975	Then I went to college and I 

2016-06-25 15:42:54.976	went to Columbia and across the 

2016-06-25 15:42:59.025	street to Barnard. 

2016-06-25 15:42:59.027	They said, what would you like 

2016-06-25 15:43:02.078	to direct? 

2016-06-25 15:43:02.08	I said, I would like to direct. 

2016-06-25 15:43:06.117	Klees and Pere Gent. 

2016-06-25 15:43:07.112	-- direct Pericles and Pere 

2016-06-25 15:43:12.14	Gent. 

2016-06-25 15:43:12.141	And they let me. 

2016-06-25 15:43:15.14	And I realized when I was doing 

2016-06-25 15:43:19.158	those plays that I wanted to do 

2016-06-25 15:43:22.184	-- I loved doing complicated, 

2016-06-25 15:43:25.236	ambiguous, difficult material. 

2016-06-25 15:43:29.271	I was born in New York and I 

2016-06-25 15:43:33.362	used to go to Barbary shows all 

2016-06-25 15:43:33.363	the time. 

2016-06-25 15:43:33.365	I was in college, I was walking 

2016-06-25 15:43:36.361	down Broadway. 

2016-06-25 15:43:39.362	I was looking at what was going 

2016-06-25 15:43:39.364	to be my life and I was looking 

2016-06-25 15:43:42.39	at all the marquees, and I 

2016-06-25 15:43:45.39	realized I did not want to do 

2016-06-25 15:43:48.395	any of those plays except for 

2016-06-25 15:43:51.392	the one Tennessee Williams 

2016-06-25 15:43:51.394	played. 

2016-06-25 15:43:52.437	And I thought, what do I do? 

2016-06-25 15:43:56.431	I'm not interested in this 

2016-06-25 15:44:00.479	material. 

2016-06-25 15:44:00.48	Where am I going to go? 

2016-06-25 15:44:00.482	I was living in New York and it 

2016-06-25 15:44:04.51	was a wonderful time, as it is 

2016-06-25 15:44:06.475	now, for new playwrights. 

2016-06-25 15:44:08.475	It's -- it was the golden time 

2016-06-25 15:44:11.472	and I think this is a golden 

2016-06-25 15:44:11.474	time. 

2016-06-25 15:44:15.486	I was able to work at 

2016-06-25 15:44:15.487	coffeehouses. 

2016-06-25 15:44:16.482	I got to do the new plays of Sam 

2016-06-25 15:44:20.474	Shepard , and luckily I met a 

2016-06-25 15:44:25.562	young writer, Andrea and 

2016-06-25 15:44:30.562	Kennedy, -- Adrienne Kennedy, 

2016-06-25 15:44:35.611	and I did a play of hers. 

2016-06-25 15:44:36.621	That found me and gave me a 

2016-06-25 15:44:42.613	Shakespeare play. 

2016-06-25 15:44:42.615	I thought, this is what I want 

2016-06-25 15:44:45.614	to do with my life. 

2016-06-25 15:44:45.616	I realized I would like to 

2016-06-25 15:44:54.61	be -- 

2016-06-25 15:44:54.655	I would like to have 

2016-06-25 15:44:54.656	responsibility for my own career 

2016-06-25 15:44:56.622	, for the work I do. 

2016-06-25 15:44:56.624	I would also like to have 

2016-06-25 15:45:02.613	responsibility of surrounding 

2016-06-25 15:45:02.615	myself with the most interesting 

2016-06-25 15:45:02.616	people, better people than 

2016-06-25 15:45:04.615	myself, and where could I do 

2016-06-25 15:45:06.611	that. 

2016-06-25 15:45:09.643	Luckily, the regional theater 

2016-06-25 15:45:10.644	movement had started and TCG was 

2016-06-25 15:45:13.642	there, and my life began. 

2016-06-25 15:45:14.641	I was lucky to be able to follow 

2016-06-25 15:45:20.684	something I believed in. 

2016-06-25 15:45:21.73	This has been a hard year. 

2016-06-25 15:45:23.777	It's been a hard year for the 

2016-06-25 15:45:28.769	theater. 

2016-06-25 15:45:28.77	It's a very hard year for the 

2016-06-25 15:45:28.772	world. 

2016-06-25 15:45:29.768	The theater reflects the world, 

2016-06-25 15:45:32.815	and the world changes so fast, 

2016-06-25 15:45:36.864	and it changes so fast in our 

2016-06-25 15:45:36.865	own theaters. 

2016-06-25 15:45:37.862	Coming to a TCG 

2016-06-25 15:45:43.872	conference is a 

2016-06-25 15:45:43.873	source of inspiration. 

2016-06-25 15:45:43.875	Not only the fact there were so 

2016-06-25 15:45:46.893	many of you with new ideas and 

2016-06-25 15:45:51.936	have stuck to theaters and 

2016-06-25 15:45:55.02	brought new life and new ideas 

2016-06-25 15:45:55.022	into the theater, that you are 

2016-06-25 15:45:58.02	able to share with me, to hear 

2016-06-25 15:46:01.022	young people talking about how 

2016-06-25 15:46:03.021	they solve problems is always a 

2016-06-25 15:46:08.021	huge inspiration for me. 

2016-06-25 15:46:08.022	Tomorrow -- this is a great 

2016-06-25 15:46:12.018	moment trade tomorrow the real 

2016-06-25 15:46:14.017	world starts. 

2016-06-25 15:46:18.114	It's a little scary to go back 

2016-06-25 15:46:18.115	to it, because this is an 

2016-06-25 15:46:22.228	amazing -- which happens just 

2016-06-25 15:46:26.282	once a year, but I'm going to 

2016-06-25 15:46:26.283	take everything with me that I 

2016-06-25 15:46:28.228	learn today. 

2016-06-25 15:46:30.229	Because I still believe that the 

2016-06-25 15:46:32.226	theater is the place that we can 

2016-06-25 15:46:36.229	break down walls. 

2016-06-25 15:46:36.231	We can change people's HEAQRTS A 

2016-06-25 15:46:37.234	-- hearts and people's minds, 

2016-06-25 15:46:43.229	and we can make our communities 

2016-06-25 15:46:45.234	a better place. 

2016-06-25 15:46:45.236	Thank you all very much. 

2016-06-25 15:46:45.237	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:46:46.273	>> Thank you, that was 

2016-06-25 15:47:08.272	beautiful. 

2016-06-25 15:47:08.274	Thank you, Michael. 

2016-06-25 15:47:13.363	Thank you for your artistry and 

2016-06-25 15:47:13.364	leadership trait Michael was 

2016-06-25 15:47:15.361	really help in the organizing of 

2016-06-25 15:47:17.365	certain parts of the conference. 

2016-06-25 15:47:18.379	It's just been wonderful to be 

2016-06-25 15:47:22.372	here and work with you, Michael. 

2016-06-25 15:47:22.374	I would now like to welcome 

2016-06-25 15:47:30.408	Rosalind Barbour. 

2016-06-25 15:47:32.412	Many of you may know her as the 

2016-06-25 15:47:36.414	chief of staff at the Public 

2016-06-25 15:47:37.413	theater. 

2016-06-25 15:47:38.413	We've also gotten to know her as 

2016-06-25 15:47:39.429	a core participants of our first 

2016-06-25 15:47:42.484	inclusion Institute cohort, 

2016-06-25 15:47:43.518	where we have been lucky enough 

2016-06-25 15:47:43.519	to witness her commitment to 

2016-06-25 15:47:47.483	justice firsthand. 

2016-06-25 15:47:47.484	Please join me in welcoming 

2016-06-25 15:47:48.481	Rosalind Barbour to the stage. 

2016-06-25 15:47:50.48	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:47:52.495	ROSALIND: Hi, everyone. 

2016-06-25 15:48:00.483	I am the administrative chief of 

2016-06-25 15:48:03.486	staff at the Public theater. 

2016-06-25 15:48:04.494	I have the great privilege of 

2016-06-25 15:48:11.566	working on the public's 

2016-06-25 15:48:11.567	government affairs and 

2016-06-25 15:48:11.569	institutional strategy. 

2016-06-25 15:48:11.569	In that role, I have the great 

2016-06-25 15:48:17.569	honor of fostering a 

2016-06-25 15:48:18.582	relationship with the U.S. 

2016-06-25 15:48:18.584	mission to the United nation's 

2016-06-25 15:48:19.673	through Abbasid her power and 

2016-06-25 15:48:21.614	her amazing staff. 

2016-06-25 15:48:24.619	I graduated from a small Jesuit 

2016-06-25 15:48:25.62	the rural arts college with a 

2016-06-25 15:48:27.613	major in theater and minors in 

2016-06-25 15:48:30.621	political science and 

2016-06-25 15:48:31.617	philosophy. 

2016-06-25 15:48:31.619	But I never imagined how I 

2016-06-25 15:48:37.694	might 

2016-06-25 15:48:37.696	use my passion for social 

2016-06-25 15:48:37.698	justice with my love of theater. 

2016-06-25 15:48:37.699	About 18 months ago I was given 

2016-06-25 15:48:41.691	that opportunity as I began 

2016-06-25 15:48:44.691	working with Ambassador power 

2016-06-25 15:48:44.692	and her team to bring you and 

2016-06-25 15:48:48.692	ambassadors to the public 

2016-06-25 15:48:49.735	theater for performances there. 

2016-06-25 15:48:49.736	A few months ago 

2016-06-25 15:48:54.771	during a visit 

2016-06-25 15:48:54.773	to the United Nations in New 

2016-06-25 15:48:55.879	York city, a member of 

2016-06-25 15:48:56.818	Ambassador power's staff pointed 

2016-06-25 15:48:58.914	out to me and my colleagues 

2016-06-25 15:49:01.914	article 27 of the Universal 

2016-06-25 15:49:01.916	declaration of human rights, 

2016-06-25 15:49:04.923	which reads, everyone has the 

2016-06-25 15:49:06.912	right freely to participate in 

2016-06-25 15:49:08.916	the cultural life of the 

2016-06-25 15:49:08.917	community, to enjoy the arts and 

2016-06-25 15:49:11.944	to share in scientific 

2016-06-25 15:49:14.94	advancements and its benefits. 

2016-06-25 15:49:15.942	I am so honored to work with the 

2016-06-25 15:49:20.941	amazing staff of the public 

2016-06-25 15:49:21.949	theater, which embodies this 

2016-06-25 15:49:23.949	write every day with the work on 

2016-06-25 15:49:25.992	its stages, both downtown 

2016-06-25 15:49:32.016	and in 

2016-06-25 15:49:32.018	Central Park, and through its 

2016-06-25 15:49:32.983	programs like the mobile unit 

2016-06-25 15:49:32.984	and public works, which seek to 

2016-06-25 15:49:36.983	create a more equitable and 

2016-06-25 15:49:36.985	compassionate society. 

2016-06-25 15:49:36.986	I'm equally honored to be 

2016-06-25 15:49:42.983	represented by Ambassador power, 

2016-06-25 15:49:43.985	who recognizes the unique power 

2016-06-25 15:49:43.987	the theater has to shift 

2016-06-25 15:49:44.983	perspective at in so doing, 

2016-06-25 15:49:47.991	change the world. 

2016-06-25 15:49:48.982	Is my pleasure to introduce our 

2016-06-25 15:49:52.029	closing plenary speakers. 

2016-06-25 15:49:53.029	Oskar Eustis has served as 

2016-06-25 15:49:59.068	artistic director of the public 

2016-06-25 15:49:59.07	theater since 2005. 

2016-06-25 15:50:01.071	Throughout his career, Oskar has 

2016-06-25 15:50:11.069	been dedicated to the 

2016-06-25 15:50:11.071	development of new work that 

2016-06-25 15:50:13.068	speaks to great issues of our 

2016-06-25 15:50:13.07	time, and has worked with 

2016-06-25 15:50:17.069	countless artists in pursuit of 

2016-06-25 15:50:19.119	that aim, from Tony parishioner 

2016-06-25 15:50:19.121	and Suzan Lori Parks to David 

2016-06-25 15:50:20.114	Henry Kwong. 

2016-06-25 15:50:22.165	He is currently a professor of 

2016-06-25 15:50:28.166	dramatic writing and arts and 

2016-06-25 15:50:31.164	public policy at New York 

2016-06-25 15:50:31.166	University and has held 

2016-06-25 15:50:34.165	professorships at UCLA, 

2016-06-25 15:50:37.165	Middlebury College, and Brown 

2016-06-25 15:50:37.167	University. 

2016-06-25 15:50:38.169	Kwame Kwei-Armah's artistic 

2016-06-25 15:50:46.278	director of Baltimore center 

2016-06-25 15:50:47.198	stage, the former artistic 

2016-06-25 15:50:47.2	director of the Festival of like 

2016-06-25 15:50:49.245	arts and culture in Senegal, 

2016-06-25 15:50:53.323	chancellor of the University of 

2016-06-25 15:50:54.318	the arts London, and former 

2016-06-25 15:50:54.32	ambassador for trade and 

2016-06-25 15:50:57.32	Christian aid. 

2016-06-25 15:50:58.32	In 2012 he was named an officer 

2016-06-25 15:51:02.321	of the most excellent order by 

2016-06-25 15:51:02.323	Queen Elizabeth for services to 

2016-06-25 15:51:02.324	drama. 

2016-06-25 15:51:03.318	Ambassador Samantha power is the 

2016-06-25 15:51:07.319	U.S. permanent representative to 

2016-06-25 15:51:10.32	the United Nations and a member 

2016-06-25 15:51:13.321	of President Obama's cabinet. 

2016-06-25 15:51:13.322	In her work at the United 

2016-06-25 15:51:17.42	Nations, Ambassador power has 

2016-06-25 15:51:19.414	worked to promote and defend 

2016-06-25 15:51:20.414	universal values and human 

2016-06-25 15:51:20.415	rights. 

2016-06-25 15:51:20.417	She has become known for the 

2016-06-25 15:51:22.414	innovative ways she uses New 

2016-06-25 15:51:26.419	York City's vast cultural 

2016-06-25 15:51:26.421	resources, especially the 

2016-06-25 15:51:30.422	theater, in her diplomacy with 

2016-06-25 15:51:30.423	you and leaders. 

2016-06-25 15:51:30.424	-- UN leaders. 

2016-06-25 15:51:34.449	Prior to her role, she served on 

2016-06-25 15:51:39.45	the White House Security Council 

2016-06-25 15:51:42.448	. 

2016-06-25 15:51:42.45	Before joining the U.S. 

2016-06-25 15:51:44.452	government, she taught at 

2016-06-25 15:51:44.453	Harvard University John F. 

2016-06-25 15:51:44.455	Kennedy school of Government and 

2016-06-25 15:51:47.49	was the founding executive 

2016-06-25 15:51:47.491	director of the Carr Center for 

2016-06-25 15:51:50.488	human rights policy. 

2016-06-25 15:51:53.491	She is a Pulitzer prize-winning 

2016-06-25 15:51:55.491	author who began her career as a 

2016-06-25 15:51:57.488	journalist, reporting from 

2016-06-25 15:51:57.49	conflict zones across the world. 

2016-06-25 15:52:00.494	Please join me in welcoming them 

2016-06-25 15:52:00.495	to the stage. 

2016-06-25 15:52:01.509	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:52:02.493	KWAME: Good afternoon, everyone. 

2016-06-25 15:52:26.532	Excellent. 

2016-06-25 15:52:28.532	My role today is just to 

2016-06-25 15:52:32.582	facilitate these two rather 

2016-06-25 15:52:33.621	brilliant minds talking about 

2016-06-25 15:52:35.626	issues that mean things to us. 

2016-06-25 15:52:39.699	In a week where my country, my 

2016-06-25 15:52:41.701	home country sent out a terrible 

2016-06-25 15:52:44.738	signal to the world that could 

2016-06-25 15:52:49.779	at its least be interpreted as 

2016-06-25 15:52:51.783	isolationist, it's wonderful to 

2016-06-25 15:52:51.784	be at a conference where we are 

2016-06-25 15:52:53.782	talking about a nation. 

2016-06-25 15:52:53.784	Can I give a big up to the 

2016-06-25 15:52:58.781	British contingent who are as 

2016-06-25 15:52:59.783	depressed as I am? 

2016-06-25 15:52:59.785	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:53:00.782	So, cultural diplomacy. 

2016-06-25 15:53:06.856	I think everybody in this room 

2016-06-25 15:53:11.869	understands within the context 

2016-06-25 15:53:11.87	of what we do as theater, as a 

2016-06-25 15:53:14.87	community, within the context 

2016-06-25 15:53:19.917	of 

2016-06-25 15:53:19.919	race or gender, we are one 

2016-06-25 15:53:19.92	community explained to the other 

2016-06-25 15:53:22.918	who we are and what we are and 

2016-06-25 15:53:23.92	asking for empathy. 

2016-06-25 15:53:27.955	Ambassador, I would like to ask 

2016-06-25 15:53:28.948	you, in the context of 

2016-06-25 15:53:29.947	international diplomacy, how do 

2016-06-25 15:53:32.956	you use theater and the 

2016-06-25 15:53:35.947	performing arts in that context? 

2016-06-25 15:53:36.948	Ambassador Power: I use Oskar to 

2016-06-25 15:53:40.948	get tickets, and start from 

2016-06-25 15:53:42.971	there. 

2016-06-25 15:53:42.973	No. 

2016-06-25 15:53:43.964	One of the biggest surprises to 

2016-06-25 15:53:46.967	me in moving to New York and 

2016-06-25 15:53:50.995	having the privilege of having 

2016-06-25 15:53:53.073	this great job is how 

2016-06-25 15:53:58.083	automated 

2016-06-25 15:53:58.084	things are, just how wrote the 

2016-06-25 15:54:01.119	talking points are. 

2016-06-25 15:54:02.118	Sometimes during meetings you 

2016-06-25 15:54:06.118	really just feel people have 

2016-06-25 15:54:06.119	dusted off points and arguments 

2016-06-25 15:54:10.127	and they have ceased -- this not 

2016-06-25 15:54:11.122	the same intentionality that 

2016-06-25 15:54:13.118	there might once have been. 

2016-06-25 15:54:14.12	So, my central challenge in 

2016-06-25 15:54:18.117	getting anything done is how we 

2016-06-25 15:54:21.12	bust out of that, what are the 

2016-06-25 15:54:24.133	ways to puncture that reflexive, 

2016-06-25 15:54:28.118	business as usual ways of doing 

2016-06-25 15:54:28.12	things. 

2016-06-25 15:54:29.119	Theater has been one incredible 

2016-06-25 15:54:36.119	vehicle for that or it may be 

2016-06-25 15:54:37.12	the best example is L GBT 

2016-06-25 15:54:44.124	writes, which is totally 

2016-06-25 15:54:44.125	polarizing within the UN 

2016-06-25 15:54:50.119	community. 

2016-06-25 15:54:50.121	78 countries have criminalized 

2016-06-25 15:54:50.122	being gay, a dozen have the 

2016-06-25 15:54:53.12	death penalty for those who are 

2016-06-25 15:54:54.167	LGBTI. 

2016-06-25 15:54:56.168	So how in a million years do you 

2016-06-25 15:54:59.214	get past that? 

2016-06-25 15:54:59.215	Tried a bunch of different ways 

2016-06-25 15:55:02.215	within the lines of the 

2016-06-25 15:55:05.218	negotiation room or the UN 

2016-06-25 15:55:08.218	itself, but the best vehicle by 

2016-06-25 15:55:09.231	far was to take 17 ambassadors 

2016-06-25 15:55:12.218	to fun home. 

2016-06-25 15:55:13.233	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:55:14.216	And, including ambassadors from 

2016-06-25 15:55:25.285	Russia, Vietnam, a couple 

2016-06-25 15:55:25.287	African countries. 

2016-06-25 15:55:27.293	I'm not sure they knew quite 

2016-06-25 15:55:29.291	what they were getting into. 

2016-06-25 15:55:31.291	The small print might have been 

2016-06-25 15:55:34.29	a little smaller than usual. 

2016-06-25 15:55:35.292	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 15:55:35.293	But , the thing about any 

2016-06-25 15:55:42.285	personal story is that life is 

2016-06-25 15:55:45.291	lived forward. 

2016-06-25 15:55:45.293	When they watch Allie herself 

2016-06-25 15:55:50.373	fighting her own identity or 

2016-06-25 15:55:52.468	just having a crush and not 

2016-06-25 15:55:54.478	knowing what to do with it -- 

2016-06-25 15:55:59.469	there's no human on earth who 

2016-06-25 15:56:01.466	can't identify with that, if 

2016-06-25 15:56:03.469	they are proximate to it, living 

2016-06-25 15:56:08.466	it forward rather than living it 

2016-06-25 15:56:08.467	out of some textbook or 

2016-06-25 15:56:12.498	diplomatic cable. 

2016-06-25 15:56:12.499	Watch these ambassadors 

2016-06-25 15:56:12.501	initially squirmy, some of them, 

2016-06-25 15:56:16.54	and they just fall into the 

2016-06-25 15:56:17.536	narrative and into the trauma of 

2016-06-25 15:56:20.62	this individual -- drama of this 

2016-06-25 15:56:24.623	individual, you can see a dent. 

2016-06-25 15:56:26.62	You don't see the world change, 

2016-06-25 15:56:30.62	it's not a panacea, but my 

2016-06-25 15:56:30.621	question is how to create a 

2016-06-25 15:56:34.634	space to come in and get 

2016-06-25 15:56:34.636	something new done. 

2016-06-25 15:56:34.637	In the wake of Orlando, we were 

2016-06-25 15:56:37.622	able to get the UN Security 

2016-06-25 15:56:39.621	Council 2 weeks ago to condemn 

2016-06-25 15:56:44.635	the targeting of people on the 

2016-06-25 15:56:45.622	basis of sexual orientation for 

2016-06-25 15:56:46.621	the first time. 

2016-06-25 15:56:47.621	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:56:48.624	I can't tell you that there's a 

2016-06-25 15:56:57.62	straight line between fun home 

2016-06-25 15:56:58.623	and that, but I can say fun home 

2016-06-25 15:57:01.62	happened, people lived that, 

2016-06-25 15:57:05.62	they were moved by it, they 

2016-06-25 15:57:07.668	forgot about what their position 

2016-06-25 15:57:10.667	was because they were watching a 

2016-06-25 15:57:10.668	human story played forward, and 

2016-06-25 15:57:14.668	a few months later we get what 

2016-06-25 15:57:16.668	we got. 

2016-06-25 15:57:16.67	My job is to 

2016-06-25 15:57:24.719	maximize the means 

2016-06-25 15:57:24.72	of piercing the architecture and 

2016-06-25 15:57:26.718	artifice and automation that the 

2016-06-25 15:57:31.719	institution unfortunately 

2016-06-25 15:57:31.72	projects. 

2016-06-25 15:57:32.719	KWAME: The straight line between 

2016-06-25 15:57:36.722	creating art and catalyzing 

2016-06-25 15:57:40.833	debate or even change -- some 

2016-06-25 15:57:42.874	might say, Hamilton eclipsed, 

2016-06-25 15:57:47.872	not just to talk about the plays 

2016-06-25 15:57:48.875	you have transferred to what was 

2016-06-25 15:57:49.873	formally called the great White 

2016-06-25 15:57:51.877	Way but now feels a bit more 

2016-06-25 15:57:51.878	diverse. 

2016-06-25 15:57:53.874	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 15:57:55.872	On Monday I had the pleasure 

2016-06-25 15:58:01.887	of 

2016-06-25 15:58:01.888	being part of an event at the 

2016-06-25 15:58:05.873	Delacorte. 

2016-06-25 15:58:05.874	Can you tell us what the own 

2016-06-25 15:58:09.919	pulse was behind the swearing-in 

2016-06-25 15:58:09.92	ceremony that the public 

2016-06-25 15:58:13.978	facilitated? 

2016-06-25 15:58:15.025	OSKAR: It would not have escaped 

2016-06-25 15:58:16.977	you to notice that Samantha said 

2016-06-25 15:58:20.969	she could not say there was a 

2016-06-25 15:58:20.97	straight line. 

2016-06-25 15:58:20.972	I'm assuming that's because 

2016-06-25 15:58:24.967	she's a diplomat. 

2016-06-25 15:58:25.969	I will say there is a straight 

2016-06-25 15:58:25.971	line between art. 

2016-06-25 15:58:28.968	On world refugee Day, we used 

2016-06-25 15:58:34.083	the Delacorte for one of its 

2016-06-25 15:58:36.084	most beautiful purposes that we 

2016-06-25 15:58:38.124	are going to do more, which is a 

2016-06-25 15:58:39.128	kind of town hall. 

2016-06-25 15:58:39.129	In collaboration with the 

2016-06-25 15:58:43.123	International Rescue Committee, 

2016-06-25 15:58:43.125	we put on an event called 

2016-06-25 15:58:45.126	welcome home, which was 

2016-06-25 15:58:48.138	essentially trying to 

2016-06-25 15:58:51.133	memorialize and celebrate the 

2016-06-25 15:58:55.126	better angels of American nature 

2016-06-25 15:58:56.128	and the fact that this is a 

2016-06-25 15:58:57.129	country that was built by 

2016-06-25 15:58:57.13	refugees and immigrants, all of 

2016-06-25 15:59:01.168	the strengths, and everything 

2016-06-25 15:59:02.167	that is actually true about 

2016-06-25 15:59:03.168	American exceptionalism is 

2016-06-25 15:59:06.217	because we have embraced 

2016-06-25 15:59:06.218	immigrants and refugees. 

2016-06-25 15:59:07.217	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:59:08.219	It's true. 

2016-06-25 15:59:11.216	And, just a quick sidebar, one 

2016-06-25 15:59:21.216	of the unexpected pleasures of 

2016-06-25 15:59:25.252	having commercial companies with 

2016-06-25 15:59:25.253	Hamilton and eclipsed is that we 

2016-06-25 15:59:29.251	are allowed as commercial 

2016-06-25 15:59:32.287	entities to support whoever we 

2016-06-25 15:59:32.288	want. 

2016-06-25 15:59:32.289	All of us know as nonprofits we 

2016-06-25 15:59:37.249	can't advocate for political 

2016-06-25 15:59:37.25	candidates, right? 

2016-06-25 15:59:38.25	As commercial enterprises, we 

2016-06-25 15:59:40.251	can. 

2016-06-25 15:59:40.253	I'm happy to say that Hamilton 

2016-06-25 15:59:44.251	is doing a big fundraiser for 

2016-06-25 15:59:45.253	Hillary Clinton on July 12. 

2016-06-25 15:59:46.251	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 15:59:47.255	Who would have thought that by 

2016-06-25 15:59:50.261	going into the commercial 

2016-06-25 15:59:50.263	sphere, I would feel a bit 

2016-06-25 15:59:53.253	unleashed politically? 

2016-06-25 15:59:53.254	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 15:59:54.252	Actually, the important thing 

2016-06-25 15:59:58.301	with the discussion at the 

2016-06-25 15:59:58.302	company was really trying to 

2016-06-25 16:00:02.337	take them through from their 

2016-06-25 16:00:02.339	position, many of them as Bernie 

2016-06-25 16:00:07.438	supporters, into this, and the 

2016-06-25 16:00:08.426	company was wholeheartedly 

2016-06-25 16:00:08.427	behind it, as I hope that will 

2016-06-25 16:00:11.417	be a conversation that repeated. 

2016-06-25 16:00:12.418	The welcome home was a beautiful 

2016-06-25 16:00:19.466	event that had readings and 

2016-06-25 16:00:23.468	music. 

2016-06-25 16:00:23.469	Kwame did a beautiful job of 

2016-06-25 16:00:26.467	reading John with a's -- John 

2016-06-25 16:00:30.468	Winthrop's speech, including 

2016-06-25 16:00:35.478	"city on a hill," that was 

2016-06-25 16:00:38.517	misappropriated by President 

2016-06-25 16:00:38.519	Reagan, because the way we are 

2016-06-25 16:00:43.517	sitting on a hill is because we 

2016-06-25 16:00:45.522	all share, we struggle together, 

2016-06-25 16:00:45.523	we suffer together as one 

2016-06-25 16:00:47.518	person, and that is what will 

2016-06-25 16:00:49.521	make us a nation. 

2016-06-25 16:00:51.52	You did that beautifully. 

2016-06-25 16:00:51.521	[INAUDIBLE] 

2016-06-25 16:00:52.52	It's true. 

2016-06-25 16:00:54.551	It was a great event, but the 

2016-06-25 16:01:02.626	real heart of it was the 

2016-06-25 16:01:02.628	beginning of it, where the 

2016-06-25 16:01:07.648	secretary of Homeland security 

2016-06-25 16:01:10.628	delivered the oath of 

2016-06-25 16:01:10.629	citizenship to 19 new Americans 

2016-06-25 16:01:13.626	from I believe 12 countries. 

2016-06-25 16:01:14.627	And, we sat on the Delacorte 

2016-06-25 16:01:17.628	stage and said, this is actually 

2016-06-25 16:01:21.628	a worthy event for the stage. 

2016-06-25 16:01:21.63	This is a place where we are 

2016-06-25 16:01:24.631	literally sing the fact we are 

2016-06-25 16:01:26.64	giving -- literalizing 

2016-06-25 16:01:32.671	the fact 

2016-06-25 16:01:32.672	that we are giving center stage 

2016-06-25 16:01:32.673	to these people. 

2016-06-25 16:01:32.674	It was astonishingly moving . 

2016-06-25 16:01:37.708	What seem to be about a 

2016-06-25 16:01:40.673	75-year-old woman from 

2016-06-25 16:01:40.674	Afghanistan, taking her own of 

2016-06-25 16:01:46.67	citizenship and getting her 

2016-06-25 16:01:46.671	certificate from the secretary 

2016-06-25 16:01:46.672	of Homeland security, just a 

2016-06-25 16:01:49.672	tremendously powerful event. 

2016-06-25 16:01:50.679	We can actually take what the 

2016-06-25 16:01:59.814	theater does, which is put the 

2016-06-25 16:02:01.743	spotlight on people, give people 

2016-06-25 16:02:01.744	center stage, and literalize it, 

2016-06-25 16:02:05.769	and save we can use this place 

2016-06-25 16:02:08.788	as a way to celebrate those who 

2016-06-25 16:02:10.778	are so often not celebrated. 

2016-06-25 16:02:13.78	AMBASSADOR POWER: -- 

2016-06-25 16:02:19.778	KWAME: In his environment -- 

2016-06-25 16:02:22.84	especially everything Oskar 

2016-06-25 16:02:26.882	said, I cheer and clapped. 

2016-06-25 16:02:27.879	But in your world, how seriously 

2016-06-25 16:02:28.881	are the arts taken, plays and 

2016-06-25 16:02:30.894	theater and drama? 

2016-06-25 16:02:31.88	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:02:33.904	AMBASSADOR POWER: My batting 

2016-06-25 16:02:42.89	average in terms of extending 

2016-06-25 16:02:42.892	invitations to my colleagues, 

2016-06-25 16:02:45.922	not the like-minded but 

2016-06-25 16:02:46.922	deliberately trying to do so to 

2016-06-25 16:02:49.924	a diverse group is very high. 

2016-06-25 16:02:53.975	I don't have anybody turning me 

2016-06-25 16:02:57.02	away from something other than 

2016-06-25 16:02:59.022	some emergency. 

2016-06-25 16:03:01.019	People really want to give it a 

2016-06-25 16:03:04.019	go. 

2016-06-25 16:03:05.019	Oskar is like my soft power 

2016-06-25 16:03:11.021	projectile, this partnership is 

2016-06-25 16:03:15.048	just this -- just to take 

2016-06-25 16:03:15.049	Hamilton, so 

2016-06-25 16:03:23.186	Rosslyn -- Rosalind 

2016-06-25 16:03:23.188	enabled us to take the UN 

2016-06-25 16:03:25.176	Security Council to Hamilton. 

2016-06-25 16:03:29.176	How I got 15 tickets -- 

2016-06-25 16:03:35.297	OK, they 

2016-06-25 16:03:35.298	did not even know. 

2016-06-25 16:03:37.298	It enraged me. 

2016-06-25 16:03:39.3	I was like, do you understand 

2016-06-25 16:03:44.508	how valuable this ticket is? 

2016-06-25 16:03:44.509	They are like, we are at the 

2016-06-25 16:03:47.312	theater. 

2016-06-25 16:03:47.313	OSKAR: Six weeks into the run at 

2016-06-25 16:03:50.341	the public. 

2016-06-25 16:03:50.342	Hamilton had not quite exploded. 

2016-06-25 16:03:53.38	AMBASSADOR POWER: 

2016-06-25 16:03:59.385	You guys were 

2016-06-25 16:03:59.387	winding down. 

2016-06-25 16:03:59.388	I felt the only way I could get 

2016-06-25 16:04:00.382	one ticket was to do this hall 

2016-06-25 16:04:01.384	UN security council thing. 

2016-06-25 16:04:05.384	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:04:05.385	Peace, diplomacy. 

2016-06-25 16:04:10.431	Please. 

2016-06-25 16:04:12.384	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:04:14.387	I guess I should not be 

2016-06-25 16:04:17.387	disclosing this. 

2016-06-25 16:04:17.389	Anyway, I got my ticket, they 

2016-06-25 16:04:20.53	got their tickets. 

2016-06-25 16:04:21.433	The United States ambassador 

2016-06-25 16:04:25.429	asked. 

2016-06-25 16:04:25.43	I said it's Hamilton, it's about 

2016-06-25 16:04:29.427	the founders. 

2016-06-25 16:04:29.428	I was asking Oskar the other 

2016-06-25 16:04:31.428	day, what made it so 

2016-06-25 16:04:34.429	extraordinary, a lot of 

2016-06-25 16:04:34.431	countries within the UN are 

2016-06-25 16:04:42.429	underdeveloped or regressing. 

2016-06-25 16:04:45.47	[INAUDIBLE] 

2016-06-25 16:04:48.47	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:04:48.471	We look, notwithstanding our 

2016-06-25 16:04:54.475	current political climate, but 

2016-06-25 16:04:57.471	we look like a fixed enterprise 

2016-06-25 16:04:58.519	that can establish democracy. 

2016-06-25 16:05:01.526	We have so many checks and 

2016-06-25 16:05:03.559	balances now, including the 

2016-06-25 16:05:08.568	District Court and what happens 

2016-06-25 16:05:08.569	in Congress. 

2016-06-25 16:05:09.562	Nonetheless, they see these as 

2016-06-25 16:05:12.552	developed institutions, and 

2016-06-25 16:05:15.603	politically the smaller 

2016-06-25 16:05:17.599	countries like in sub-Saharan 

2016-06-25 16:05:18.639	Africa, the idea that we were 

2016-06-25 16:05:23.637	once a work in progress, that 

2016-06-25 16:05:23.638	there were these historical 

2016-06-25 16:05:24.636	contingencies, that these things 

2016-06-25 16:05:28.644	were contested and fought for, 

2016-06-25 16:05:35.636	and hard, the fact they could 

2016-06-25 16:05:36.637	see that part of America, it's 

2016-06-25 16:05:36.638	akin to be fun home. 

2016-06-25 16:05:40.642	It's living life again forward, 

2016-06-25 16:05:42.677	rather than the false necessity 

2016-06-25 16:05:42.684	of where we are now. 

2016-06-25 16:05:43.678	So , they came out not only 

2016-06-25 16:05:49.677	having had an amazing night, 

2016-06-25 16:05:53.678	totally unappreciative of what 

2016-06-25 16:05:53.679	had been secured for them, but 

2016-06-25 16:05:56.676	they came out with a sense of -- 

2016-06-25 16:06:00.678	we have more in common than not. 

2016-06-25 16:06:01.675	For all of us, it's a journey. 

2016-06-25 16:06:04.675	It's 

2016-06-25 16:06:09.721	actually quite recent, all 

2016-06-25 16:06:09.722	things considered, given how 

2016-06-25 16:06:12.769	they will feel and looking at 

2016-06-25 16:06:13.773	our institutions now, it looks 

2016-06-25 16:06:16.773	like it has been that way for a 

2016-06-25 16:06:16.774	while. 

2016-06-25 16:06:16.775	And of course to see the 

2016-06-25 16:06:19.776	founder's story turned on its 

2016-06-25 16:06:23.774	head, the African-American and 

2016-06-25 16:06:23.775	Spaniard and other actors, the 

2016-06-25 16:06:27.774	idea that we would be doing that 

2016-06-25 16:06:28.776	today is also a reflection of 

2016-06-25 16:06:30.812	the diversion -- 

2016-06-25 16:06:34.807	OSKAR: You said it made America 

2016-06-25 16:06:38.806	vulnerable to them. 

2016-06-25 16:06:39.847	I love that. 

2016-06-25 16:06:42.849	AMBASSADOR POWER: 

2016-06-25 16:06:48.847	It really did. 

2016-06-25 16:06:48.848	That it could go anyway. 

2016-06-25 16:06:48.849	They feel like they themselves 

2016-06-25 16:06:51.846	are going this way and that way. 

2016-06-25 16:06:52.846	More than half the countries in 

2016-06-25 16:06:55.9	the UN are not democratic. 

2016-06-25 16:06:58.845	So many now are dealing with the 

2016-06-25 16:07:02.847	influx of displacement or 

2016-06-25 16:07:03.851	outpouring of their own 

2016-06-25 16:07:05.849	citizens. 

2016-06-25 16:07:05.85	To go back to see us again in 

2016-06-25 16:07:10.846	that experimental phase, 

2016-06-25 16:07:14.847	everything is up for grabs. 

2016-06-25 16:07:14.848	I don't know if it's because 

2016-06-25 16:07:23.847	of 

2016-06-25 16:07:23.848	the United States asking, but 

2016-06-25 16:07:23.849	it's New York, so -- in 

2016-06-25 16:07:27.85	Washington also, there is an 

2016-06-25 16:07:30.847	appetite as well. 

2016-06-25 16:07:31.847	The question is how to get young 

2016-06-25 16:07:35.897	people and make sure this is 

2016-06-25 16:07:37.892	passed as a lw. 

2016-06-25 16:07:38.943	-- law. 

2016-06-25 16:07:39.891	In our own mission, how to get 

2016-06-25 16:07:43.89	diplomats out and about 

2016-06-25 16:07:45.891	themselves and bringing 

2016-06-25 16:07:46.89	colleagues. 

2016-06-25 16:07:47.891	It's one thing for the sort of 

2016-06-25 16:07:50.89	established heads of the 

2016-06-25 16:07:52.896	mission. 

2016-06-25 16:07:52.897	If we can change hearts and 

2016-06-25 16:07:56.931	minds generationally, we have to 

2016-06-25 16:07:58.933	think about this more viciously. 

2016-06-25 16:07:59.933	KWAME: -- ambitiously. 

2016-06-25 16:08:02.981	KWAME: I have been inspired by 

2016-06-25 16:08:08.021	your access for all philosophy. 

2016-06-25 16:08:09.023	Can you talk about that in terms 

2016-06-25 16:08:10.022	of nationbuilding, building a 

2016-06-25 16:08:12.023	relationship with the boroughs 

2016-06-25 16:08:15.056	of New York, the Delacorte? 

2016-06-25 16:08:16.072	OSKAR: That's not my philosophy. 

2016-06-25 16:08:20.072	That's what Job have started 

2016-06-25 16:08:23.071	with in 1954, and George Wolf 

2016-06-25 16:08:26.076	continued. 

2016-06-25 16:08:27.072	The most beautiful thing about 

2016-06-25 16:08:31.081	my job for me is I got to take a 

2016-06-25 16:08:31.082	job where there was not one iota 

2016-06-25 16:08:36.109	of air between what I believed 

2016-06-25 16:08:36.11	and what the theater stood for. 

2016-06-25 16:08:38.099	I feel like I'm completely 

2016-06-25 16:08:43.101	invested in an identified with 

2016-06-25 16:08:47.103	that idea. 

2016-06-25 16:08:47.104	The idea is essentially a 

2016-06-25 16:08:47.105	democratic idea, because the 

2016-06-25 16:08:50.1	brilliance of what Joe first 

2016-06-25 16:08:55.109	said was, Shakespeare should 

2016-06-25 16:08:55.109	belong to everybody. 

2016-06-25 16:08:55.11	Frankl 

2016-06-25 16:09:01.234	y, I did not even really 

2016-06-25 16:09:01.235	know this until a couple years 

2016-06-25 16:09:02.235	ago. 

2016-06-25 16:09:02.236	He was inspired in high school 

2016-06-25 16:09:04.225	by his English teacher. 

2016-06-25 16:09:06.225	She taught him Shakespeare. 

2016-06-25 16:09:10.227	She was a playwright in the 

2016-06-25 16:09:14.229	Harlem Renaissance. 

2016-06-25 16:09:15.23	It's extraordinary. 

2016-06-25 16:09:16.224	There were a couple of her plays 

2016-06-25 16:09:19.232	published. 

2016-06-25 16:09:19.233	He never talked about that. 

2016-06-25 16:09:21.237	I didn't know if he knew it. 

2016-06-25 16:09:23.226	Just the idea of this woman, 

2016-06-25 16:09:27.236	this artist coming to fruition, 

2016-06-25 16:09:30.227	the Harlem Renaissance, and then 

2016-06-25 16:09:33.227	not having any other place to go 

2016-06-25 16:09:33.228	but into the high schools to 

2016-06-25 16:09:36.229	teach, and that her influence 

2016-06-25 16:09:37.226	going to -- which 

2016-06-25 16:09:43.225	is what he was 

2016-06-25 16:09:43.226	at this time -- tremendously 

2016-06-25 16:09:45.236	moving to me. 

2016-06-25 16:09:45.237	Joe figured we would need to do 

2016-06-25 16:09:49.227	Shakespeare for free. 

2016-06-25 16:09:50.225	Shakespeare needs to partner 

2016-06-25 16:09:50.226	with -- needs to be for 

2016-06-25 16:09:53.271	everybody. 

2016-06-25 16:09:53.271	Shakespeare is the key to 

2016-06-25 16:09:57.278	participation in the culture. 

2016-06-25 16:09:57.279	We 

2016-06-25 16:10:02.33	all have agreed as an English 

2016-06-25 16:10:02.331	speaking society that he is our 

2016-06-25 16:10:02.332	greatest writer. 

2016-06-25 16:10:02.333	If he were to say, I get to have 

2016-06-25 16:10:06.32	a place at the table, you have 

2016-06-25 16:10:07.321	to own Shakespeare somewhat. 

2016-06-25 16:10:08.321	He did that, and he did that for 

2016-06-25 16:10:11.322	13 years. 

2016-06-25 16:10:12.339	He did Shakespeare in the parks 

2016-06-25 16:10:14.327	and the boroughs. 

2016-06-25 16:10:15.325	We eventually settled at the 

2016-06-25 16:10:18.396	Delacorte. 

2016-06-25 16:10:18.397	The brilliant thing he did after 

2016-06-25 16:10:21.477	that was founding the public in 

2016-06-25 16:10:22.476	1967. 

2016-06-25 16:10:22.477	It's not enough to simply offer 

2016-06-25 16:10:27.478	up culture to people. 

2016-06-25 16:10:28.475	You have to turn not only the 

2016-06-25 16:10:33.484	auditorium of the people, you 

2016-06-25 16:10:34.477	have to turn the stage of the 

2016-06-25 16:10:34.478	people. 

2016-06-25 16:10:34.478	You have to let people make 

2016-06-25 16:10:38.524	their own history, not just 

2016-06-25 16:10:38.525	receive the canon but make the 

2016-06-25 16:10:40.521	canon. 

2016-06-25 16:10:41.528	That's what making the Public 

2016-06-25 16:10:45.534	theater was about. 

2016-06-25 16:10:45.535	That democratic circle of both 

2016-06-25 16:10:49.576	making it available, turning the 

2016-06-25 16:10:50.585	stage over, remaking the canon, 

2016-06-25 16:10:53.603	has been at the heart of the 

2016-06-25 16:10:53.604	public, certainly since 1967. 

2016-06-25 16:10:56.602	It's my job not to change that 

2016-06-25 16:10:59.601	one bit. 

2016-06-25 16:11:00.606	It's my job just to figure 

2016-06-25 16:11:05.616	out, 

2016-06-25 16:11:05.617	how can we continue to execute 

2016-06-25 16:11:05.618	that in our current 

2016-06-25 16:11:06.605	circumstances with all the 

2016-06-25 16:11:10.607	radical expansiveness that is 

2016-06-25 16:11:10.608	implied by that. 

2016-06-25 16:11:12.607	The thing I love about that 

2016-06-25 16:11:13.606	mission -- you can never 

2016-06-25 16:11:16.608	accomplish it. 

2016-06-25 16:11:17.606	You're never done expanding 

2016-06-25 16:11:21.605	democratic and French mise 

2016-06-25 16:11:22.607	meant. 

2016-06-25 16:11:22.607	-- enfranchisement. 

2016-06-25 16:11:25.606	It is something that keeps 

2016-06-25 16:11:26.624	growing. 

2016-06-25 16:11:27.606	The show you are directing and 

2016-06-25 16:11:32.616	our public works program is a 

2016-06-25 16:11:32.616	continuing expression. 

2016-06-25 16:11:32.617	We are saying, we are going to 

2016-06-25 16:11:36.61	blur the line between amateur 

2016-06-25 16:11:36.611	and professional. 

2016-06-25 16:11:37.605	We are going to say, being an 

2016-06-25 16:11:40.647	artist is not a binary. 

2016-06-25 16:11:40.648	You are or aren't an artist. 

2016-06-25 16:11:45.775	We are all artists, and we are 

2016-06-25 16:11:46.774	on a continuum of some people 

2016-06-25 16:11:48.778	are experienced and skilled at 

2016-06-25 16:11:48.779	it and get to spend their lives 

2016-06-25 16:11:52.778	doing it and some are doing it 

2016-06-25 16:11:53.78	for the first time, but it's not 

2016-06-25 16:11:54.778	a difference of kind. 

2016-06-25 16:11:54.779	It's a difference of grade. 

2016-06-25 16:11:59.773	We can put 200 community members 

2016-06-25 16:11:59.774	on stage, singing and doing 

2016-06-25 16:12:01.824	Shakespeare, which, you are 

2016-06-25 16:12:05.869	going to direct them so 

2016-06-25 16:12:05.87	wonderfully, Kwame -- 

2016-06-25 16:12:07.835	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:12:07.836	KWAME: No pressure. 

2016-06-25 16:12:10.826	OSKAR: We pledge and front of 

2016-06-25 16:12:14.826	all of these people. 

2016-06-25 16:12:14.827	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:12:14.828	That same idea, it's just a 

2016-06-25 16:12:19.874	during out a new and 

2016-06-25 16:12:23.855	groundbreaking expression of 

2016-06-25 16:12:23.856	that idea. 

2016-06-25 16:12:25.854	KWAME: I'm slightly loath to 

2016-06-25 16:12:33.858	even mention Britain at the 

2016-06-25 16:12:33.858	moment, but we 

2016-06-25 16:12:39.937	have the British 

2016-06-25 16:12:39.938	Council, which is tasked and 

2016-06-25 16:12:39.939	funded to go out in the world 

2016-06-25 16:12:42.939	and say, here is Britain, here 

2016-06-25 16:12:44.941	is Shakespeare, here are many of 

2016-06-25 16:12:44.942	the things we define as great, 

2016-06-25 16:12:49.939	and we interact with you as a 

2016-06-25 16:12:49.94	nation through that lens. 

2016-06-25 16:12:51.938	How serious does the American 

2016-06-25 16:12:55.938	government take cultural 

2016-06-25 16:12:55.939	diplomacy? 

2016-06-25 16:12:56.94	AMBASSADOR POWER: You may know 

2016-06-25 16:12:59.942	better. 

2016-06-25 16:13:01.942	That doesn't sound very 

2016-06-25 16:13:04.982	auspicious. 

2016-06-25 16:13:05.98	I know how seriously President 

2016-06-25 16:13:10.981	Obama takes it. 

2016-06-25 16:13:10.981	I know Hamilton was conceived 

2016-06-25 16:13:16.026	of 

2016-06-25 16:13:16.027	for a casual encounter -- 

2016-06-25 16:13:19.028	OSKAR: I'm sure most people know 

2016-06-25 16:13:23.027	this by now. 

2016-06-25 16:13:23.028	When Hamilton was only -- on the 

2016-06-25 16:13:29.029	concept album that Lynn thought 

2016-06-25 16:13:30.027	he was creating, the first 

2016-06-25 16:13:30.027	performance of it was at the 

2016-06-25 16:13:30.028	White House in front of the 

2016-06-25 16:13:33.078	president and first lady. 

2016-06-25 16:13:35.105	He said to us the other day that 

2016-06-25 16:13:38.106	he thought he should get to pick 

2016-06-25 16:13:38.107	up the -- 

2016-06-25 16:13:40.105	AMBASSADOR POWER: Along with his 

2016-06-25 16:13:43.112	Grammys. 

2016-06-25 16:13:43.113	I recommend looking on YouTube. 

2016-06-25 16:13:47.126	If you want to see the power of 

2016-06-25 16:13:52.17	art and the piercing I was 

2016-06-25 16:13:55.158	talking about earlier, I think 

2016-06-25 16:14:01.276	it was a little bit in the 

2016-06-25 16:14:02.277	presentation before hours -- 

2016-06-25 16:14:02.278	look at President Obama's face. 

2016-06-25 16:14:03.277	Now we all know Hamilton. 

2016-06-25 16:14:09.278	There is a hip-hop musical with 

2016-06-25 16:14:09.279	all these actors. 

2016-06-25 16:14:10.277	You don't know any of 

2016-06-25 16:14:16.276	that, you 

2016-06-25 16:14:16.276	are the president and invite 

2016-06-25 16:14:17.275	this guy and he decides he's 

2016-06-25 16:14:18.278	going to do a rap about 

2016-06-25 16:14:18.278	Alexander Hamilton, and Obama -- 

2016-06-25 16:14:24.279	at the very beginning he's like 

2016-06-25 16:14:24.28	-- 

2016-06-25 16:14:24.281	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:14:25.276	At the end, he leaps to his 

2016-06-25 16:14:29.276	feet. 

2016-06-25 16:14:29.277	It was on YouTube and its 

2016-06-25 16:14:36.274	magical. 

2016-06-25 16:14:36.275	Some of it is personal. 

2016-06-25 16:14:39.324	If you yourself are interested 

2016-06-25 16:14:43.276	in the theater, or believe in 

2016-06-25 16:14:48.286	storytelling, believe in 

2016-06-25 16:14:49.292	narrative, you are going to 

2016-06-25 16:14:52.277	embrace this as part of your 

2016-06-25 16:14:53.277	role. 

2016-06-25 16:14:53.277	And see it as a secret weapon. 

2016-06-25 16:14:57.375	OSKAR: You talked to me the 

2016-06-25 16:15:02.377	other day in the Security 

2016-06-25 16:15:02.378	Council with the kids about 

2016-06-25 16:15:08.376	the 

2016-06-25 16:15:08.376	way you use personal stories and 

2016-06-25 16:15:08.377	testimony at the Security 

2016-06-25 16:15:08.378	Council. 

2016-06-25 16:15:09.385	Although that's not technically 

2016-06-25 16:15:11.377	theater, I thought it was 

2016-06-25 16:15:13.379	incredibly inspiring. 

2016-06-25 16:15:15.428	AMBASSADOR POWER: Using my 

2016-06-25 16:15:17.418	secret powers. 

2016-06-25 16:15:18.45	Thank you. 

2016-06-25 16:15:20.485	So, I mentioned the context in 

2016-06-25 16:15:25.576	which we are trying to talk 

2016-06-25 16:15:27.577	about the refugee crisis. 

2016-06-25 16:15:28.575	We have made an effort every 

2016-06-25 16:15:35.625	time we are doing a meeting in 

2016-06-25 16:15:36.63	the Security Council of some 

2016-06-25 16:15:38.628	importance to break through. 

2016-06-25 16:15:41.626	Here are batting average is much 

2016-06-25 16:15:44.627	lower than invitations to New 

2016-06-25 16:15:49.705	York theater or public theater 

2016-06-25 16:15:49.705	in terms of raking through, -- 

2016-06-25 16:15:51.743	breaking through, but bringing 

2016-06-25 16:15:56.789	individuals were speaking from 

2016-06-25 16:16:00.777	direct experience -- to someone 

2016-06-25 16:16:03.778	in the theater, this will sound 

2016-06-25 16:16:03.779	so obvious. 

2016-06-25 16:16:05.781	The best example of 

2016-06-25 16:16:13.777	this for me 

2016-06-25 16:16:13.778	was lots, because we try it in 

2016-06-25 16:16:18.876	every context. 

2016-06-25 16:16:18.877	During the height of the ebola 

2016-06-25 16:16:19.878	crisis, when our director of the 

2016-06-25 16:16:22.875	CDC was showing us internally 

2016-06-25 16:16:27.906	charts -- this was in September 

2016-06-25 16:16:27.907	2014, showing charts that there 

2016-06-25 16:16:31.906	would be 1.5 million infections 

2016-06-25 16:16:33.906	by early 2015, and just 

2016-06-25 16:16:41.907	after we 

2016-06-25 16:16:41.908	had had the Liberian man die in 

2016-06-25 16:16:41.909	Texas, and a New York health 

2016-06-25 16:16:46.945	worker come back and get 

2016-06-25 16:16:48.946	infected, even some Democrats 

2016-06-25 16:16:52.948	just freaking out, to use a 

2016-06-25 16:16:55.947	diplomatic term, and -- I 

2016-06-25 16:17:01.984	happened to be the president of 

2016-06-25 16:17:03.954	the Security Council in the 

2016-06-25 16:17:03.955	month of September 2014. 

2016-06-25 16:17:03.956	We staged the first ever 

2016-06-25 16:17:08.946	emergency meeting of the 

2016-06-25 16:17:08.947	Security Council on a public 

2016-06-25 16:17:08.948	health issue. 

2016-06-25 16:17:09.947	Security, war, and conflict 

2016-06-25 16:17:14.036	resolution. 

2016-06-25 16:17:15.05	This was something that was 

2016-06-25 16:17:19.125	ravaging these countries. 

2016-06-25 16:17:21.123	We thought, how do we get away 

2016-06-25 16:17:24.125	from the WHO reading numbers, 

2016-06-25 16:17:27.125	and as graphic and dramatic as 

2016-06-25 16:17:31.128	the chart was, how do we 

2016-06-25 16:17:32.138	humanize this? 

2016-06-25 16:17:32.139	We did a video conference into 

2016-06-25 16:17:35.155	the security council , behind 

2016-06-25 16:17:42.172	where the president sits and the 

2016-06-25 16:17:42.173	Secretary-General spe aks, 

2016-06-25 16:17:47.28	completely covered with this 

2016-06-25 16:17:47.281	video screen that drops down and 

2016-06-25 16:17:49.282	this Liberian health worker, not 

2016-06-25 16:17:51.291	terribly educated, the way the 

2016-06-25 16:17:56.284	Ebola response work is 

2016-06-25 16:17:59.282	sanitation, chlorine, is every 

2016-06-25 16:17:59.283	bit as important as being an 

2016-06-25 16:18:03.281	epidemiologist. 

2016-06-25 16:18:04.286	The reporters had come forward 

2016-06-25 16:18:10.287	to us and said, he would be your 

2016-06-25 16:18:14.335	best speaker, talking about what 

2016-06-25 16:18:15.347	it was like to have no beds for 

2016-06-25 16:18:17.327	people who have Ebola. 

2016-06-25 16:18:17.328	He talked about a man coming 

2016-06-25 16:18:22.377	to 

2016-06-25 16:18:22.377	the clinic in Monrovia carrying 

2016-06-25 16:18:22.378	his daughter, desperate to be 

2016-06-25 16:18:24.38	able to deliver his starter to 

2016-06-25 16:18:26.376	Doctors without Borders. 

2016-06-25 16:18:27.376	Jackson saying, we can't. 

2016-06-25 16:18:31.408	The way the Ebola treatment was, 

2016-06-25 16:18:34.415	you can't pile people up. 

2016-06-25 16:18:36.409	Each of the beds are a specific 

2016-06-25 16:18:39.409	unit. 

2016-06-25 16:18:39.409	He had to tell the father no. 

2016-06-25 16:18:42.409	The father just laid his 

2016-06-25 16:18:45.411	daughter at the gate of the 

2016-06-25 16:18:46.41	clinic. 

2016-06-25 16:18:47.406	He tells this to all the 

2016-06-25 16:18:50.409	ambassadors of the UN who 

2016-06-25 16:18:53.412	crammed into this first ever, 

2016-06-25 16:18:53.413	historic -- he made it so 

2016-06-25 16:18:59.409	devastating, to imagine what it 

2016-06-25 16:19:00.435	was like as a father, but to 

2016-06-25 16:19:00.436	leave the daughter, but also to 

2016-06-25 16:19:05.408	know that the father was going 

2016-06-25 16:19:06.423	back to his family and he was 

2016-06-25 16:19:06.424	going to infect them all 

2016-06-25 16:19:12.492	because 

2016-06-25 16:19:12.493	he had been carrying his 

2016-06-25 16:19:12.494	daughter, forget about it. 

2016-06-25 16:19:12.495	He said, people, you must 

2016-06-25 16:19:17.578	understand, if you do not come, 

2016-06-25 16:19:21.586	we will all be wiped out. 

2016-06-25 16:19:21.587	He said it 

2016-06-25 16:19:27.625	and it was like that 

2016-06-25 16:19:27.626	at the Security Council, 

2016-06-25 16:19:27.627	everybody stopped. 

2016-06-25 16:19:27.628	I view it as a lot 

2016-06-25 16:19:33.625	of inflection 

2016-06-25 16:19:33.626	points, the main one being 

2016-06-25 16:19:34.629	president Obama deciding to send 

2016-06-25 16:19:35.636	3000 health workers and soldiers 

2016-06-25 16:19:37.624	into the eye of the epidemic, 

2016-06-25 16:19:42.661	but the combination of us 

2016-06-25 16:19:42.661	decided we were going to act, 

2016-06-25 16:19:44.663	and when you return 192 other 

2016-06-25 16:19:48.662	ambassadors into advocates for 

2016-06-25 16:19:48.662	action, extended into sort of 

2016-06-25 16:19:52.661	messengers of instruction, 

2016-06-25 16:19:56.666	people were much more personally 

2016-06-25 16:19:56.666	at stake. 

2016-06-25 16:19:56.667	We had done that on Syrian 

2016-06-25 16:19:59.678	chemical weapons, the doctors 

2016-06-25 16:20:02.676	who treat the people who had 

2016-06-25 16:20:02.677	been afflicted with chlroine, 

2016-06-25 16:20:05.687	when the Assad regime had their 

2016-06-25 16:20:09.74	weapons taken away they started 

2016-06-25 16:20:09.741	using chlorine, household 

2016-06-25 16:20:10.704	chlorine, and were not breaking 

2016-06-25 16:20:13.7	through with Russia and some of 

2016-06-25 16:20:17.699	the other countries that decided 

2016-06-25 16:20:19.7	the regime -- we brought the 

2016-06-25 16:20:22.707	doctors who showed the video, 

2016-06-25 16:20:25.711	the hand taken video of the kids 

2016-06-25 16:20:30.708	they had treated you had no cuts 

2016-06-25 16:20:30.709	on them, nothing, just were 

2016-06-25 16:20:34.743	frozen, almost Pompeii-like by 

2016-06-25 16:20:36.787	virtue of the chlorine and 

2016-06-25 16:20:37.799	killed. 

2016-06-25 16:20:38.785	Out of that, we were able to get 

2016-06-25 16:20:41.784	an accountability mechanism to 

2016-06-25 16:20:46.827	hold accountable those people 

2016-06-25 16:20:46.827	who carry out chlorine attacks. 

2016-06-25 16:20:46.828	When you break through -- it 

2016-06-25 16:20:51.784	doesn't happen every time, but 

2016-06-25 16:20:53.793	you have to try unconventional 

2016-06-25 16:20:56.786	ways to get around the same old. 

2016-06-25 16:20:57.79	KWAME: Tremendous use of 

2016-06-25 16:21:05.878	first-person narrative. 

2016-06-25 16:21:05.879	I'm going to open up for some 

2016-06-25 16:21:10.931	questions from the floor, if 

2016-06-25 16:21:10.932	that's all right. 

2016-06-25 16:21:11.927	There 

2016-06-25 16:21:16.937	is a microphone there and 

2016-06-25 16:21:16.938	a microphone there. 

2016-06-25 16:21:16.939	There are also some roving mics. 

2016-06-25 16:21:21.927	Evidently not. 

2016-06-25 16:21:25	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:21:25	So if you have any, please do 

2016-06-25 16:21:30.039	just line up in the aisle and 

2016-06-25 16:21:38.039	ask them. 

2016-06-25 16:21:38.039	I would beg that the question be 

2016-06-25 16:21:41.041	a question. 

2016-06-25 16:21:41.046	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:21:42.04	And with that, I open the floor. 

2016-06-25 16:21:51.039	Thank you so much. 

2016-06-25 16:21:55.039	>> Hi, everybody. 

2016-06-25 16:21:58.08	I'm from Spain, from a theater 

2016-06-25 16:22:02.079	group 

2016-06-25 16:22:07.088	specializing in emigrant, 

2016-06-25 16:22:07.089	refugee, migrant theater. 

2016-06-25 16:22:07.09	I have a question for the 

2016-06-25 16:22:10.081	ambassador and maybe all of you. 

2016-06-25 16:22:11.079	I was really shocked the other 

2016-06-25 16:22:15.083	day in the preconference day, 

2016-06-25 16:22:21.09	and my question is, why you are 

2016-06-25 16:22:25.081	afraid of some Syrian refugee in 

2016-06-25 16:22:28.131	Jordan to get to the United 

2016-06-25 16:22:31.128	State to talk about theater. 

2016-06-25 16:22:34.128	Why she didn't got the visa to 

2016-06-25 16:22:37.316	come here to display her 

2016-06-25 16:22:41.183	wonderful story? 

2016-06-25 16:22:42.177	Why you are talking about going 

2016-06-25 16:22:46.177	abroad to save the world, but 

2016-06-25 16:22:50.181	you close your world two other 

2016-06-25 16:22:50.182	people to come and share the 

2016-06-25 16:22:54.206	wonderful spirit? 

2016-06-25 16:22:56.209	That is my question. 

2016-06-25 16:22:57.205	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:22:58.205	KWAME: Not in any way am I 

2016-06-25 16:23:03.207	trying to deflect. 

2016-06-25 16:23:04.205	There may be some questions we 

2016-06-25 16:23:04.205	ask like that that ambassador 

2016-06-25 16:23:07.207	power may not be able to answer 

2016-06-25 16:23:09.207	specifically. 

2016-06-25 16:23:09.208	I want to put that framework out 

2016-06-25 16:23:10.208	there, and then ma'am, please. 

2016-06-25 16:23:12.208	AMBASSADOR POWER: I know nothing 

2016-06-25 16:23:14.208	of this case. 

2016-06-25 16:23:15.207	I'm going to sound like a 

2016-06-25 16:23:20.298	bureaucrat here, but it just 

2016-06-25 16:23:22.331	takes a little time. 

2016-06-25 16:23:24.35	We have to run the security 

2016-06-25 16:23:24.351	traps. 

2016-06-25 16:23:25.334	I promise you it would be good 

2016-06-25 16:23:29.335	for no refugees, Syrian or 

2016-06-25 16:23:29.336	otherwise, if we had an 

2016-06-25 16:23:32.335	incident. 

2016-06-25 16:23:32.336	I take your point and I know you 

2016-06-25 16:23:36.342	are vouching for this woman, but 

2016-06-25 16:23:38.332	that's not how the system works. 

2016-06-25 16:23:38.333	We just have to run it through 

2016-06-25 16:23:40.334	the system. 

2016-06-25 16:23:41.331	We have, as you 

2016-06-25 16:23:47.378	know, not taken 

2016-06-25 16:23:47.379	a huge number of Syrian refugees 

2016-06-25 16:23:47.38	up to this point to resettle 

2016-06-25 16:23:51.379	them, which is a huge issue for 

2016-06-25 16:23:51.38	us and we are trying to get the 

2016-06-25 16:23:51.381	number up to 10,000 by the end 

2016-06-25 16:23:57.378	of this year, and our overall 

2016-06-25 16:23:58.385	number of refugees up to 

2016-06-25 16:24:01.377	100,000. 

2016-06-25 16:24:01.377	We are trying to do better at 

2016-06-25 16:24:03.437	achieving both of our 

2016-06-25 16:24:05.431	objectives, which are being a 

2016-06-25 16:24:09.43	country true to what Oscar has 

2016-06-25 16:24:10.435	described, true our values, 

2016-06-25 16:24:13.431	enriching our country with 

2016-06-25 16:24:13.432	perspectives like the one you 

2016-06-25 16:24:16.501	describe. 

2016-06-25 16:24:16.501	Also keeping the American people 

2016-06-25 16:24:18.502	safe. 

2016-06-25 16:24:19.5	Our political climate is such 

2016-06-25 16:24:25.501	that we need to maintain 

2016-06-25 16:24:26.502	political support for this 

2016-06-25 16:24:26.503	program, and right now over the 

2016-06-25 16:24:31.503	course of the last year that has 

2016-06-25 16:24:32.555	been much more challenging than 

2016-06-25 16:24:32.556	it has been in the entire life 

2016-06-25 16:24:35.508	of one of the most important 

2016-06-25 16:24:36.506	programs of the United States. 

2016-06-25 16:24:40.498	I don't know anything about this 

2016-06-25 16:24:41.507	specific case. 

2016-06-25 16:24:41.508	I wish I had known about it. 

2016-06-25 16:24:42.509	Some of you have Oskar's email. 

2016-06-25 16:24:45.588	These are the kinds of things if 

2016-06-25 16:24:48.589	one knows about it -- 

2016-06-25 16:24:50.586	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:24:51.589	OSKAR: Happy to help. 

2016-06-25 16:24:54.592	AMBASSADOR POWER: Helping, to be 

2016-06-25 16:24:57.583	clear, means people -- putting 

2016-06-25 16:25:02.584	people through a process where 

2016-06-25 16:25:03.589	you try using the information 

2016-06-25 16:25:03.589	you have to ensure that the can 

2016-06-25 16:25:07.632	get a visa. 

2016-06-25 16:25:08.629	It's not a willy-nilly -- it's 

2016-06-25 16:25:10.696	got to be a good process for the 

2016-06-25 16:25:13.629	sake of the program as well as 

2016-06-25 16:25:16.63	for the sake of our country's 

2016-06-25 16:25:16.631	security. 

2016-06-25 16:25:17.631	KWAME: Apparently she was not 

2016-06-25 16:25:22.63	denied for this conference, it 

2016-06-25 16:25:23.633	was for a previous engagement. 

2016-06-25 16:25:24.629	Good. 

2016-06-25 16:25:25.629	Question over there. 

2016-06-25 16:25:26.65	Mic coming to you, ma'am. 

2016-06-25 16:25:29.63	>> This is also a question for 

2016-06-25 16:25:41.709	the ambassador. 

2016-06-25 16:25:41.71	You reacted when we left about 

2016-06-25 16:25:50.709	the support of the U.S. 

2016-06-25 16:25:51.796	government for arts and culture 

2016-06-25 16:25:51.797	in the U.S. -- laughed about the 

2016-06-25 16:25:55.715	support of the U.S. government 

2016-06-25 16:25:56.721	for arts and culture in the U.S. 

2016-06-25 16:25:56.722	My personal view and probably of 

2016-06-25 16:26:00.712	many people in this room is that 

2016-06-25 16:26:03.723	there is a significant lack of 

2016-06-25 16:26:05.721	funding and support by the U.S. 

2016-06-25 16:26:05.722	government of arts and culture 

2016-06-25 16:26:07.776	in the U.S. 

2016-06-25 16:26:07.777	I was wondering if you had any 

2016-06-25 16:26:11.759	thoughts in your position how 

2016-06-25 16:26:13.809	you can advocate to your 

2016-06-25 16:26:15.8	colleagues for more support 

2016-06-25 16:26:20.881	and 

2016-06-25 16:26:20.881	value of arts and culture in the 

2016-06-25 16:26:20.882	U.S., and what we can do as 

2016-06-25 16:26:22.932	advocates. 

2016-06-25 16:26:24.928	I know many people went to the 

2016-06-25 16:26:26.93	hill and met with 

2016-06-25 16:26:26.931	representatives, that what we 

2016-06-25 16:26:31.94	can do to showcase the value of 

2016-06-25 16:26:31.941	arts and culture and change the 

2016-06-25 16:26:34.94	viewpoint of the people in power 

2016-06-25 16:26:38.936	in the U.S. and the American 

2016-06-25 16:26:39.963	people to view it as a pillar of 

2016-06-25 16:26:41.969	society rather than as an 

2016-06-25 16:26:41.97	entertainment benefit. 

2016-06-25 16:26:43.963	AMBASSADOR POWER: I am 

2016-06-25 16:26:48.973	definitely on the foreign policy 

2016-06-25 16:26:49.968	side of the house, so I don't 

2016-06-25 16:26:49.973	have a huge amount of insight 

2016-06-25 16:26:53.975	into the funding picture and 

2016-06-25 16:26:54.966	what is the hill and what is the 

2016-06-25 16:26:59.005	administration, but I think -- 

2016-06-25 16:27:03.052	my answer is that of a citizen, 

2016-06-25 16:27:07.048	which is the more personal 

2016-06-25 16:27:07.049	exposure people have, the 

2016-06-25 16:27:09.053	better. 

2016-06-25 16:27:09.054	All institutions are comprised 

2016-06-25 16:27:14.051	of individuals. 

2016-06-25 16:27:15.049	They develop as collective 

2016-06-25 16:27:20.049	habits, in the case of arts 

2016-06-25 16:27:20.05	funding, it being way down, 

2016-06-25 16:27:25.059	steadily down over the course of 

2016-06-25 16:27:27.049	the last two, three decades. 

2016-06-25 16:27:30.091	I can imagine that makes your 

2016-06-25 16:27:32.09	jobs incredibly hard. 

2016-06-25 16:27:34.098	The question of how to take 

2016-06-25 16:27:40.093	these collectives and 

2016-06-25 16:27:40.094	disaggregate them so that people 

2016-06-25 16:27:44.134	get off their talking points, 

2016-06-25 16:27:45.095	are living the experience of 

2016-06-25 16:27:48.09	theater. 

2016-06-25 16:27:48.091	I think Hamilton -- not every 

2016-06-25 16:27:52.089	theater director gets out of 

2016-06-25 16:27:54.095	Hamilton every year, but taking 

2016-06-25 16:27:57.134	advantage of something like 

2016-06-25 16:27:58.13	that, that has history lessons 

2016-06-25 16:28:01.135	in it as well as contemporary 

2016-06-25 16:28:04.134	political lessons as well as 

2016-06-25 16:28:08.133	insights into sociology and the 

2016-06-25 16:28:10.14	reaction of the theaters, its 

2016-06-25 16:28:11.135	own sociological theater -- 

2016-06-25 16:28:17.136	Syria in the making, to take 

2016-06-25 16:28:18.143	some of these large successes -- 

2016-06-25 16:28:20.134	theory in the making, to take 

2016-06-25 16:28:25.143	some of these large successes, 

2016-06-25 16:28:26.181	pearls the lie out there in our 

2016-06-25 16:28:28.18	respective theaters. 

2016-06-25 16:28:29.179	Oskar, you have been fighting 

2016-06-25 16:28:32.18	this fight for 3 decades. 

2016-06-25 16:28:34.178	OSKAR: One of the things we can 

2016-06-25 16:28:37.183	do is try to make sure that our 

2016-06-25 16:28:40.206	work matters, to try to make 

2016-06-25 16:28:44.228	sure we are reaching the people 

2016-06-25 16:28:45.232	we say we are supposed to reach, 

2016-06-25 16:28:49.305	and try to demonstrate what I 

2016-06-25 16:28:50.3	believe is true, that the 

2016-06-25 16:28:51.344	theater has something to offer 

2016-06-25 16:28:55.393	to our civic discourse on the 

2016-06-25 16:28:55.394	largest issues facing our 

2016-06-25 16:28:55.395	society. 

2016-06-25 16:28:56.39	There are things that theater 

2016-06-25 16:29:00.385	can bring to that discussion 

2016-06-25 16:29:00.386	that are vitally needed. 

2016-06-25 16:29:03.386	Samantha's example of the 

2016-06-25 16:29:03.386	Security Council, first-person 

2016-06-25 16:29:06.384	testimony, we have to make work 

2016-06-25 16:29:09.435	that actually demonstrates on 

2016-06-25 16:29:11.48	the face of it that we are 

2016-06-25 16:29:14.486	reaching the broadest mass of 

2016-06-25 16:29:14.487	people and reaching them with 

2016-06-25 16:29:17.485	something that matters. 

2016-06-25 16:29:17.486	I'm not saying we don't do that, 

2016-06-25 16:29:20.512	but that is what we can do. 

2016-06-25 16:29:21.508	It also has to do with the 

2016-06-25 16:29:24.515	immigration question, not being 

2016-06-25 16:29:27.515	a member of the administration, 

2016-06-25 16:29:31.564	I can say -- 

2016-06-25 16:29:32.553	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:29:33.652	Semi-close now? 

2016-06-25 16:29:36.556	-- can we close now? 

2016-06-25 16:29:39.556	I have a discussion. 

2016-06-25 16:29:40.557	There is a huge epic making 

2016-06-25 16:29:44.557	conflict in this country that 

2016-06-25 16:29:46.596	has many different faces. 

2016-06-25 16:29:47.618	That conflict on some level is 

2016-06-25 16:29:52.685	between two strands of American 

2016-06-25 16:29:54.686	history. 

2016-06-25 16:29:54.687	One of them is about immigration 

2016-06-25 16:29:57.687	and openness to the world and 

2016-06-25 16:29:58.684	about building a nation for 

2016-06-25 16:30:01.737	everybody, 

2016-06-25 16:30:08.806	trying to recapture a 

2016-06-25 16:30:08.807	mythical past that never 

2016-06-25 16:30:08.808	existed, when this was a white 

2016-06-25 16:30:11.844	country. 

2016-06-25 16:30:11.844	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:30:13.84	On the one hand, what we are 

2016-06-25 16:30:20.845	seeing is a joke, a clown. 

2016-06-25 16:30:26.843	On the other hand, it's a 

2016-06-25 16:30:27.844	representative 

2016-06-25 16:30:34.936	of a very really 

2016-06-25 16:30:34.937	force in our society. 

2016-06-25 16:30:35.938	We have to struggle with that 

2016-06-25 16:30:36.935	and we have to win. 

2016-06-25 16:30:37.935	One of the ways we are going to 

2016-06-25 16:30:42.015	win is by not simply struggling, 

2016-06-25 16:30:44.013	by also bringing people over to 

2016-06-25 16:30:44.014	our side. 

2016-06-25 16:30:44.014	That is going to change arts 

2016-06-25 16:30:49.014	funding, change our border 

2016-06-25 16:30:50.017	policy, change a lot of things. 

2016-06-25 16:30:51.024	We can make an America that 

2016-06-25 16:30:56.017	cowardly is standing up for the 

2016-06-25 16:30:59.014	best of America, and that's 

2016-06-25 16:31:02.014	about who we elect, it's about 

2016-06-25 16:31:04.013	who we support, what their 

2016-06-25 16:31:07.057	policies are, the pressure we 

2016-06-25 16:31:08.054	bring on those people we elect 

2016-06-25 16:31:12.184	to follow their most progressive 

2016-06-25 16:31:12.185	selves. 

2016-06-25 16:31:12.185	That is something we can all do 

2016-06-25 16:31:15.185	as citizens. 

2016-06-25 16:31:15.185	KWAME: I profoundly believe in 

2016-06-25 16:31:19.236	theater as foreign policy. 

2016-06-25 16:31:21.233	Not being a member of the 

2016-06-25 16:31:23.234	administration, I think I can 

2016-06-25 16:31:26.234	say this -- during the Bush 

2016-06-25 16:31:27.237	years, America across the world 

2016-06-25 16:31:29.234	not in his thoroughly seen in 

2016-06-25 16:31:31.237	the best light. 

2016-06-25 16:31:31.238	Yet one would go to the theater 

2016-06-25 16:31:34.233	and see Jesus pop the a train 

2016-06-25 16:31:37.265	-- A-train, where the heart of 

2016-06-25 16:31:41.307	America was being displayed. 

2016-06-25 16:31:44.305	That's the nation I know and 

2016-06-25 16:31:49.315	want to celebrate with. 

2016-06-25 16:31:49.316	This anti-intellectualism is 

2016-06-25 16:31:59.391	very dangerous. 

2016-06-25 16:32:00.389	We might begin to think as a 

2016-06-25 16:32:03.39	nation of idiots. 

2016-06-25 16:32:06.393	Really, that's what you want ? 

2016-06-25 16:32:12.391	Our role is to make sure that 

2016-06-25 16:32:16.391	the work we create matters, so 

2016-06-25 16:32:19.391	when it is exported and it does 

2016-06-25 16:32:22.389	travel the world, it represents 

2016-06-25 16:32:23.394	America's best self. 

2016-06-25 16:32:25.391	Any questions? 

2016-06-25 16:32:27.398	Thank you. 

2016-06-25 16:32:28.391	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:32:29.389	>> Thank you guys for speaking 

2016-06-25 16:32:36.437	today and an often -- awesome 

2016-06-25 16:32:38.435	conference. 

2016-06-25 16:32:39.44	It is remarkable that you see 

2016-06-25 16:32:45.432	theater as a tool and I'm 

2016-06-25 16:32:46.436	curious about the discovery of 

2016-06-25 16:32:46.437	that. 

2016-06-25 16:32:47.436	Was it a slow discovery, or one 

2016-06-25 16:32:51.487	day you were like eureka, 

2016-06-25 16:32:52.49	theater! 

2016-06-25 16:32:53.484	I'm wondering what your personal 

2016-06-25 16:32:57.488	journey to using theater as 

2016-06-25 16:32:57.489	something that can affect change 

2016-06-25 16:33:01.508	outside of -- all of us, that's 

2016-06-25 16:33:01.508	like our goal. 

2016-06-25 16:33:02.484	You noticing it and actually 

2016-06-25 16:33:05.533	using it, I'm interested in that 

2016-06-25 16:33:07.515	discovery. 

2016-06-25 16:33:07.516	KWAME: Is that a question, tell 

2016-06-25 16:33:11.603	me about your first time? 

2016-06-25 16:33:12.514	Sorry to be cheap, but alas. 

2016-06-25 16:33:18.516	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:33:19.517	AMBASSADOR POWER: A couple 

2016-06-25 16:33:22.521	things. 

2016-06-25 16:33:23.526	If I can respond a little bit to 

2016-06-25 16:33:26.531	what was said before, while 

2016-06-25 16:33:34.609	saying I can't get into politics 

2016-06-25 16:33:34.61	and the elections, we don't 

2016-06-25 16:33:38.599	speak to that -- I think there's 

2016-06-25 16:33:38.599	a little bit of a risk 

2016-06-25 16:33:40.599	particularly given how dark all 

2016-06-25 16:33:43.611	of us feel in the wake of 

2016-06-25 16:33:44.6	Brexit, that not looking at some 

2016-06-25 16:33:49.6	of the glimmers here. 

2016-06-25 16:33:51.599	We did just 

2016-06-25 16:33:57.599	have Barack Obama -- 

2016-06-25 16:33:57.599	will have taken Barack Obama as 

2016-06-25 16:33:59.645	president for eight years to 

2016-06-25 16:34:01.686	take that for granted. 

2016-06-25 16:34:03.685	As a relates to LGBT 

2016-06-25 16:34:17.686	rights, we 

2016-06-25 16:34:17.687	have gone in the shortest period 

2016-06-25 16:34:17.688	of time, the most astonishing 

2016-06-25 16:34:21.684	pace to a place at none of us 

2016-06-25 16:34:23.692	thought possible. 

2016-06-25 16:34:24.683	We have universal health care 

2016-06-25 16:34:29.733	for Americans, one of the most 

2016-06-25 16:34:29.733	polarizing issues and 

2016-06-25 16:34:33.733	complicated, imperfect, but 

2016-06-25 16:34:33.733	different. 

2016-06-25 16:34:35.734	There's a lot to be said. 

2016-06-25 16:34:37.732	The thing I found most striking, 

2016-06-25 16:34:40.787	crunching the data about Brexit, 

2016-06-25 16:34:45.796	all the young people who wanted 

2016-06-25 16:34:45.796	to be European. 

2016-06-25 16:34:45.797	There is this very dispiriting 

2016-06-25 16:34:53.794	but also uplifting feature of 

2016-06-25 16:34:57.788	the numbers, dispiriting insofar 

2016-06-25 16:34:59.785	as you have all these young 

2016-06-25 16:35:00.814	people saying -- if 

2016-06-25 16:35:06.815	I could only 

2016-06-25 16:35:06.816	have done it on my smart phone 

2016-06-25 16:35:06.816	without leaving my apartment. 

2016-06-25 16:35:07.816	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:35:08.918	Others saying, we are saddled 

2016-06-25 16:35:11.811	with this decision that is so 

2016-06-25 16:35:13.854	not us and our generation. 

2016-06-25 16:35:15.937	Anyway, I reject a little bit 

2016-06-25 16:35:19.988	the this close to being a 

2016-06-25 16:35:23.037	nation, to use your phrase. 

2016-06-25 16:35:24.036	KWAME: I don't think I was 

2016-06-25 16:35:27.037	saying we are this close. 

2016-06-25 16:35:27.038	But it does hang over us. 

2016-06-25 16:35:30.035	I think you are right to say 

2016-06-25 16:35:37.035	there are kernels of great hope 

2016-06-25 16:35:40.066	out of the road we have traveled 

2016-06-25 16:35:40.067	thus far. 

2016-06-25 16:35:40.068	As a challenge to us as theater 

2016-06-25 16:35:44.105	majors -- 

2016-06-25 16:35:44.106	AMBASSADOR POWER: I understand. 

2016-06-25 16:35:46.105	I don't think this day in 2016 

2016-06-25 16:35:50.105	is a day that anyone is feeling 

2016-06-25 16:35:52.106	particularly complacent. 

2016-06-25 16:35:53.108	These forces are getting 

2016-06-25 16:35:57.104	strengthened as a reaction to 

2016-06-25 16:36:00.103	some of the headway. 

2016-06-25 16:36:01.104	Now, my mother -- 

2016-06-25 16:36:04.111	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:36:05.103	My mother, who is the most 

2016-06-25 16:36:11.148	amazing person in every respect, 

2016-06-25 16:36:13.186	she split up with my father. 

2016-06-25 16:36:15.196	She went to middle school. 

2016-06-25 16:36:17.357	She went to medical school in 

2016-06-25 16:36:21.204	England. 

2016-06-25 16:36:21.205	She would sneak away from 

2016-06-25 16:36:23.186	medical school to go and catch 

2016-06-25 16:36:29.19	the matinee, waiting in line. 

2016-06-25 16:36:32.19	Between her night shifts 

2016-06-25 16:36:37.235	in the 

2016-06-25 16:36:37.236	emergency room, she would gobble 

2016-06-25 16:36:37.237	up as much theater as she could 

2016-06-25 16:36:40.235	when she lived in London. 

2016-06-25 16:36:41.234	She emigrated from Ireland to 

2016-06-25 16:36:44.239	Pittsburgh when I was nine. 

2016-06-25 16:36:47.235	I would hear the stories about 

2016-06-25 16:36:54.284	her. 

2016-06-25 16:36:56.284	She always had to choose between 

2016-06-25 16:37:00.292	did she use her money to eat or 

2016-06-25 16:37:00.293	go to the theater. 

2016-06-25 16:37:02.315	She was tiny and she would 

2016-06-25 16:37:05.321	always go to the theater. 

2016-06-25 16:37:05.322	That was an appreciation. 

2016-06-25 16:37:09.315	When I was a senior in high 

2016-06-25 16:37:09.316	school, moved to New York, to 

2016-06-25 16:37:15.317	Brooklyn. 

2016-06-25 16:37:15.318	When my 

2016-06-25 16:37:24.329	mother at the resources, 

2016-06-25 16:37:24.33	forget about it. 

2016-06-25 16:37:25.324	There's not a show in New York 

2016-06-25 16:37:25.324	she had not seen. 

2016-06-25 16:37:25.325	She dragged me along. 

2016-06-25 16:37:28.317	She works at Mt. Sinai, she's a 

2016-06-25 16:37:32.357	kidney doctor, she's a 

2016-06-25 16:37:34.399	tremendous athlete, I bring her 

2016-06-25 16:37:38.452	down to the Security Council, 

2016-06-25 16:37:41.398	she's an omnivore in terms of 

2016-06-25 16:37:42.401	politics. 

2016-06-25 16:37:42.407	A movie class in the morning and 

2016-06-25 16:37:47.446	squash game in the afternoon. 

2016-06-25 16:37:48.399	She's nuts. 

2016-06-25 16:37:50.399	I have taken like one small 

2016-06-25 16:37:54.404	comet tiny piece of her 

2016-06-25 16:37:59.442	passion. 

2016-06-25 16:37:59.443	I think being in this job and 

2016-06-25 16:38:00.444	having the privilege of this 

2016-06-25 16:38:01.447	platform -- I take what I took 

2016-06-25 16:38:03.483	from her, and now I've lived it 

2016-06-25 16:38:07.534	and I've seen the effects of 

2016-06-25 16:38:07.535	people. 

2016-06-25 16:38:07.535	I've never been a person who 

2016-06-25 16:38:11.535	brought people into theater or 

2016-06-25 16:38:12.63	go to the theater, but what 

2016-06-25 16:38:15.58	we've done together with Oskar 

2016-06-25 16:38:17.566	and Public has allowed -- what 

2016-06-25 16:38:28.566	Michael had when he was six 

2016-06-25 16:38:32.566	years old, I'm having in my 

2016-06-25 16:38:35.578	40's, watching the effects it 

2016-06-25 16:38:37.568	has on people. 

2016-06-25 16:38:38.569	KWAME: I have time 

2016-06-25 16:38:43.648	for one more 

2016-06-25 16:38:43.649	question before we run out of 

2016-06-25 16:38:44.65	time. 

2016-06-25 16:38:44.65	I believe you have the 

2016-06-25 16:38:44.651	microphone, but I'm going to say 

2016-06-25 16:38:46.651	-- I saw Ari put his hands up 10 

2016-06-25 16:38:50.655	minutes ago. 

2016-06-25 16:38:50.655	>> Thank you for this 

2016-06-25 16:38:55.68	conversation. 

2016-06-25 16:38:56.657	It's fascinating. 

2016-06-25 16:38:56.658	It is something I would love to 

2016-06-25 16:38:56.659	extend, whatever brief answer 

2016-06-25 16:39:00.66	for all three of you. 

2016-06-25 16:39:00.66	One of the great beauties of 

2016-06-25 16:39:01.653	these conferences is giving us a 

2016-06-25 16:39:05.696	chance to envision a better 

2016-06-25 16:39:07.692	future, and American theater 

2016-06-25 16:39:07.692	moving forward. 

2016-06-25 16:39:07.693	I would love to hear your 

2016-06-25 16:39:09.692	thoughts about how you see 

2016-06-25 16:39:15.697	American theater working both as 

2016-06-25 16:39:16.703	a global citizen, the 

2016-06-25 16:39:17.697	recognizing we are hyper local, 

2016-06-25 16:39:19.697	and what you feel like are the 

2016-06-25 16:39:19.698	great things we have yet to 

2016-06-25 16:39:21.697	achieve. 

2016-06-25 16:39:21.697	Oskar, I've heard you speak 

2016-06-25 16:39:27.694	about more theater that directly 

2016-06-25 16:39:27.695	addresses the 

2016-06-25 16:39:27.695	Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

2016-06-25 16:39:27.696	I would love to hear from the 

2016-06-25 16:39:31.696	three of you what you think are 

2016-06-25 16:39:32.695	the issues or vision of what 

2016-06-25 16:39:32.696	theater can be that does not yet 

2016-06-25 16:39:35.754	exist but you hope to see. 

2016-06-25 16:39:36.737	AMBASSADOR POWER: I would have a 

2016-06-25 16:39:43.736	hard time answering that 

2016-06-25 16:39:43.737	question. 

2016-06-25 16:39:44.736	In terms of ISIL and the 

2016-06-25 16:39:50.741	Russians -- 

2016-06-25 16:39:50.741	To have that extra sliver of 

2016-06-25 16:39:57.785	bandwidth, it just goes to my 

2016-06-25 16:40:01.784	seven-year-old and my 

2016-06-25 16:40:01.785	three-year-old. 

2016-06-25 16:40:02.821	When I leave government, 

2016-06-25 16:40:07.796	I will 

2016-06-25 16:40:07.797	come back and have a better 

2016-06-25 16:40:07.797	answer. 

2016-06-25 16:40:07.798	OSKAR: I would like to think 

2016-06-25 16:40:12.861	Samantha can't answer that 

2016-06-25 16:40:13.838	because she's getting everything 

2016-06-25 16:40:13.839	she needs from the theater. 

2016-06-25 16:40:13.839	That must be it. 

2016-06-25 16:40:15.839	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:40:15.84	The thing that I feel 

2016-06-25 16:40:20.837	particularly passionate about 

2016-06-25 16:40:24.837	these days is the question of 

2016-06-25 16:40:24.838	expanding our reach. 

2016-06-25 16:40:24.839	It still feels to me like we are 

2016-06-25 16:40:27.873	reaching way, way fewer 

2016-06-25 16:40:33.942	people, 

2016-06-25 16:40:33.943	a much smaller percentage of 

2016-06-25 16:40:34.943	this country than the theater 

2016-06-25 16:40:34.944	should be reaching. 

2016-06-25 16:40:34.945	We have something that 

2016-06-25 16:40:39.952	is needed 

2016-06-25 16:40:39.953	by everybody, and it goes to 

2016-06-25 16:40:40.948	about 5% of the population. 

2016-06-25 16:40:40.949	Figuring out how we change that, 

2016-06-25 16:40:45.946	which isn't just a question of 

2016-06-25 16:40:48.956	mobile units -- mobile units are 

2016-06-25 16:40:48.957	good things. 

2016-06-25 16:40:48.958	It's also a question of 

2016-06-25 16:40:52.956	reimagining what the form can do 

2016-06-25 16:40:56.992	in order to make sure it matters 

2016-06-25 16:40:56.993	to more people, in order to make 

2016-06-25 16:41:00.035	sure that we can actually place 

2016-06-25 16:41:01.037	it at the center of people's 

2016-06-25 16:41:01.038	lives. 

2016-06-25 16:41:02.089	That is fairly general, but I 

2016-06-25 16:41:09.092	think we all know what that 

2016-06-25 16:41:09.092	means. 

2016-06-25 16:41:09.093	We don't know exactly how to do 

2016-06-25 16:41:09.094	it, but the biggest thing I want 

2016-06-25 16:41:14.09	to say is we can't cut our 

2016-06-25 16:41:14.091	ambitions short. 

2016-06-25 16:41:14.092	We should not settle for what we 

2016-06-25 16:41:16.09	have. 

2016-06-25 16:41:17.086	We should be aggressive and 

2016-06-25 16:41:22.117	ambitious and not self-satisfied 

2016-06-25 16:41:22.118	about what we are currently 

2016-06-25 16:41:22.119	doing. 

2016-06-25 16:41:22.12	The other thing I want to say is 

2016-06-25 16:41:25.122	yes, Israel and Palestine. 

2016-06-25 16:41:30.195	But in general the experience we 

2016-06-25 16:41:30.196	just had with "eclipsed" was 

2016-06-25 16:41:35.196	extraordinary, and being able to 

2016-06-25 16:41:36.196	speak about an issue and reach 

2016-06-25 16:41:37.199	tens of thousands of people, and 

2016-06-25 16:41:40.201	to say that the theater is a way 

2016-06-25 16:41:40.201	of bringing home sexual slavery 

2016-06-25 16:41:46.198	, 

2016-06-25 16:41:46.199	the problems of the civil wars 

2016-06-25 16:41:47.198	in Africa, the problems of 

2016-06-25 16:41:47.199	female soldiers, and bring that 

2016-06-25 16:41:50.238	to a visceral reality, that is 

2016-06-25 16:41:53.239	something we can do that there 

2016-06-25 16:41:55.286	are not many forms that can do 

2016-06-25 16:41:55.286	that. 

2016-06-25 16:41:56.287	In order to do it, we have to 

2016-06-25 16:41:58.289	say we are going to tackle 

2016-06-25 16:42:03.32	-- we 

2016-06-25 16:42:03.321	need to speak about these 

2016-06-25 16:42:05.289	issues, we need to tackle them. 

2016-06-25 16:42:06.294	If the plays aren't there, we 

2016-06-25 16:42:08.286	have to figure out how to bring 

2016-06-25 16:42:10.29	them into existence. 

2016-06-25 16:42:11.289	I want to argue for our ambition 

2016-06-25 16:42:13.336	and how large our ambition 

2016-06-25 16:42:13.336	should be. 

2016-06-25 16:42:13.337	KWAME: I would echo that by 

2016-06-25 16:42:18.345	saying I would love as an 

2016-06-25 16:42:20.345	artistic director to see less 

2016-06-25 16:42:20.345	plays they use the metaphor of 

2016-06-25 16:42:23.367	the American family to discuss 

2016-06-25 16:42:23.368	politics. 

2016-06-25 16:42:24.372	I am more about it just hitting 

2016-06-25 16:42:27.366	it straight on with great skill 

2016-06-25 16:42:29.364	and structure, and allowing 

2016-06-25 16:42:33.363	political theater to be 

2016-06-25 16:42:33.364	something that you don't have to 

2016-06-25 16:42:37.369	run away from or cover over. 

2016-06-25 16:42:37.369	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:42:39.367	>> 

2016-06-25 16:42:45.406	Just to press forward on the 

2016-06-25 16:42:45.407	Israel-Palestine question, Ari 

2016-06-25 16:42:47.418	Roth from Mosaic Theatre, huge 

2016-06-25 16:42:51.491	props to both of you -- how can 

2016-06-25 16:42:55.491	this collaboration, as it were, 

2016-06-25 16:42:59.495	between the United Nations and 

2016-06-25 16:42:59.496	the public theater, help to 

2016-06-25 16:43:02.494	reconvene conversations about 

2016-06-25 16:43:04.492	peace in the Middle East, 

2016-06-25 16:43:10.495	particularly with respect to 

2016-06-25 16:43:10.495	Israel-Palestine? 

2016-06-25 16:43:11.492	This conference, this 

2016-06-25 16:43:14.555	international preconference 

2016-06-25 16:43:15.555	invited the freedom -- freedom 

2016-06-25 16:43:17.538	theater of Jenin for a first 

2016-06-25 16:43:22.589	ever encounter between artists 

2016-06-25 16:43:23.59	who could have and should have 

2016-06-25 16:43:23.591	been speaking to each other, but 

2016-06-25 16:43:27.592	because of the real politics in 

2016-06-25 16:43:27.593	the region, never did. 

2016-06-25 16:43:30.589	For over 15 years. 

2016-06-25 16:43:31.586	This conference achieve that 

2016-06-25 16:43:33.59	dialogue, thanks to the lab for 

2016-06-25 16:43:38.59	global performance and politics 

2016-06-25 16:43:38.591	at Georgetown, and its 

2016-06-25 16:43:40.614	collaboration of TCG. 

2016-06-25 16:43:43.659	What can the great public 

2016-06-25 16:43:43.66	theater do in collaboration with 

2016-06-25 16:43:46.66	the United Nations do to do 

2016-06-25 16:43:49.659	something that the politicians 

2016-06-25 16:43:49.66	can't? 

2016-06-25 16:43:50.659	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:43:51.66	OSKAR: This is the hardest issue 

2016-06-25 16:43:59.659	I have faced in my professional 

2016-06-25 16:43:59.66	lifetime. 

2016-06-25 16:44:00.658	I have found it more difficult 

2016-06-25 16:44:04.658	to figure out how to fully 

2016-06-25 16:44:10.661	address this issue than any 

2016-06-25 16:44:10.662	other. 

2016-06-25 16:44:10.663	And it is an issue 

2016-06-25 16:44:18.705	where -- you 

2016-06-25 16:44:18.706	know, Ari, one of the few places 

2016-06-25 16:44:21.705	that the difficulty that the 

2016-06-25 16:44:21.706	theater has in speaking about 

2016-06-25 16:44:24.703	engaging this issue mirrors the 

2016-06-25 16:44:27.704	difficulty of our society is -- 

2016-06-25 16:44:30.723	societies as a whole. 

2016-06-25 16:44:31.709	All I know is we have to do it. 

2016-06-25 16:44:38.708	We have to do better. 

2016-06-25 16:44:39.751	We have to push the boundaries 

2016-06-25 16:44:40.743	of what is acceptable to talk 

2016-06-25 16:44:40.744	about. 

2016-06-25 16:44:43.742	We have to push the boundaries 

2016-06-25 16:44:44.743	of who gets to talk about it, 

2016-06-25 16:44:45.745	who has agency. 

2016-06-25 16:44:46.744	It's also one of the very few 

2016-06-25 16:44:50.741	issues in which I think New York 

2016-06-25 16:44:53.741	is the hardest place to talk 

2016-06-25 16:44:55.745	about this, but we have to do 

2016-06-25 16:44:57.743	it. 

2016-06-25 16:44:57.744	I have never actually asked 

2016-06-25 16:45:02.79	Ambassador power how she can 

2016-06-25 16:45:02.791	help me. 

2016-06-25 16:45:03.79	But now that you brought it up 

2016-06-25 16:45:05.79	-- 

2016-06-25 16:45:05.791	[LAUGHTER] 

2016-06-25 16:45:06.837	You don't have to necessarily 

2016-06-25 16:45:09.839	answer in public. 

2016-06-25 16:45:09.84	[INAUDIBLE] 

2016-06-25 16:45:09.841	AMBASSADOR POWER: Just to echo 

2016-06-25 16:45:12.843	what Oscar is saying, and then I 

2016-06-25 16:45:17.839	want to end on a more upbeat 

2016-06-25 16:45:17.84	note -- this issue, 

2016-06-25 16:45:23.839	polarization 

2016-06-25 16:45:23.839	all the way down 

2016-06-25 16:45:32.875	, within the UN 

2016-06-25 16:45:32.876	community it's very hard to 

2016-06-25 16:45:33.876	create shared spaces, other than 

2016-06-25 16:45:33.876	the UN security council space 

2016-06-25 16:45:37.912	itself, which is such a divisive 

2016-06-25 16:45:40.914	one fundamentally, people come 

2016-06-25 16:45:44.912	in with the strongest version of 

2016-06-25 16:45:45.916	their argument for why nothing 

2016-06-25 16:45:48.94	on the other side is right. 

2016-06-25 16:45:49.913	It's a non-listening venue, by 

2016-06-25 16:45:52.915	and large. 

2016-06-25 16:45:53.915	Culture and art should be the 

2016-06-25 16:45:56.913	vehicle. 

2016-06-25 16:45:57.914	In so many of the other issues 

2016-06-25 16:45:59.955	we have discussed, it has been. 

2016-06-25 16:46:01.961	The ways in which strong views 

2016-06-25 16:46:09.997	on all sides kind of look to see 

2016-06-25 16:46:14.995	what is a sign of bias on the 

2016-06-25 16:46:15.996	other side, and that then 

2016-06-25 16:46:15.997	becomes a disable or -- di 

2016-06-25 16:46:18.996	sabler. 

2016-06-25 16:46:18.997	It's like, what is the way to 

2016-06-25 16:46:23.002	give it a second chance, to give 

2016-06-25 16:46:25.046	any piece of art a second chance 

2016-06-25 16:46:25.047	to make a first impression if 

2016-06-25 16:46:29.039	one is already looking with such 

2016-06-25 16:46:30.039	suspicion 

2016-06-25 16:46:35.095	to put it in a box or 

2016-06-25 16:46:35.096	a slot? 

2016-06-25 16:46:36.096	Oskar and I will take this and 

2016-06-25 16:46:41.09	talk about it and think about, 

2016-06-25 16:46:42.09	is there a way to do that. 

2016-06-25 16:46:45.093	For it to work properly, I think 

2016-06-25 16:46:49.089	about it as a U.S. government 

2016-06-25 16:46:49.09	person and somebody who gets to 

2016-06-25 16:46:53.146	interact with diplomats from 

2016-06-25 16:46:54.142	other countries, including the 

2016-06-25 16:46:54.143	Palestinian authority and 

2016-06-25 16:46:56.159	Israeli ambassador, to imagine 

2016-06-25 16:46:59.215	his or anything cultural that we 

2016-06-25 16:47:00.167	can do together as a starting 

2016-06-25 16:47:06.176	point. 

2016-06-25 16:47:06.176	Particularly in the current 

2016-06-25 16:47:06.177	climate, without talks and 

2016-06-25 16:47:09.164	without things progressing, it's 

2016-06-25 16:47:12.173	like culture can and should be 

2016-06-25 16:47:16.166	the Trojan horse through which 

2016-06-25 16:47:19.163	you can move the other, but 

2016-06-25 16:47:21.174	absent progress and movement 

2016-06-25 16:47:23.167	towards talks, it feels at least 

2016-06-25 16:47:27.208	in my world frozen and lots of 

2016-06-25 16:47:30.249	other fronts. 

2016-06-25 16:47:31.257	The more upbeat thing I wanted 

2016-06-25 16:47:35.258	to add, Oskar mentioned 

2016-06-25 16:47:40.248	"Eclipsed." 

2016-06-25 16:47:41.25	Of the 193 countries represented 

2016-06-25 16:47:44.248	at the UN, there are 36 women 

2016-06-25 16:47:48.253	ambassadors. 

2016-06-25 16:47:49.26	It's a little strange in 2016, 

2016-06-25 16:47:54.293	but it is what it is. 

2016-06-25 16:47:55.292	When "Eclipsed" was off-Broadway 

2016-06-25 16:47:59.293	at the public, we invited the 36 

2016-06-25 16:48:01.289	women ambassadors to attend. 

2016-06-25 16:48:05.295	One of the women ambassadors was 

2016-06-25 16:48:09.293	there who is now the Foreign 

2016-06-25 16:48:09.294	Minister, the Liberian 

2016-06-25 16:48:12.3	ambassador to the U.N. 

2016-06-25 16:48:13.309	This privilege I have of sitting 

2016-06-25 16:48:21.338	and watching the play, but also 

2016-06-25 16:48:23.337	watching my colleagues watch the 

2016-06-25 16:48:23.337	play and watching her watch the 

2016-06-25 16:48:26.349	play, and she said this is my 

2016-06-25 16:48:27.342	life, this is what I've Lived, I 

2016-06-25 16:48:31.353	knew what was happening in my 

2016-06-25 16:48:31.354	country but because I did not 

2016-06-25 16:48:35.343	experience it myself, I don't 

2016-06-25 16:48:35.344	think I really understood what 

2016-06-25 16:48:37.389	my country went through until 

2016-06-25 16:48:42.398	I 

2016-06-25 16:48:42.399	saw this play. 

2016-06-25 16:48:43.399	She's now the current library 

2016-06-25 16:48:43.4	and Foreign Minister. 

2016-06-25 16:48:43.401	That's the power of art. 

2016-06-25 16:48:45.392	Hearing the experiences of those 

2016-06-25 16:48:49.448	women up close and personal, she 

2016-06-25 16:48:53.46	said it was the first time she 

2016-06-25 16:48:53.461	understood sexual violence, and 

2016-06-25 16:48:57.46	that now she had a 

2016-06-25 16:48:57.461	responsibility to someone who 

2016-06-25 16:48:59.461	was just voted -- promoted, 

2016-06-25 16:49:05.462	grows out of a motion, the heft 

2016-06-25 16:49:06.463	of that. 

2016-06-25 16:49:08.462	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:49:11.462	KWAME: There is the straight 

2016-06-25 16:49:20.558	line we were talking about. 

2016-06-25 16:49:21.543	Thank you, ambassador. 

2016-06-25 16:49:24.592	Thank you, Oskar. 

2016-06-25 16:49:25.63	Thank you, TCG for inviting us 

2016-06-25 16:49:29.595	and having a bloody brilliant 

2016-06-25 16:49:31.593	conference. 

2016-06-25 16:49:34.593	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:49:42.644	TERESA: Wow. 

2016-06-25 16:50:01.673	OK, everybody is all on Twitter 

2016-06-25 16:50:08.798	now. 

2016-06-25 16:50:08.799	862 references to Hamilton. 

2016-06-25 16:50:12.894	I want to thank Kwame, Oskar, 

2016-06-25 16:50:19.002	and Ambassador power. 

2016-06-25 16:50:22.002	Their talk so beautifully 

2016-06-25 16:50:22.003	reflected so many of the strands 

2016-06-25 16:50:24.006	of thought that have been moving 

2016-06-25 16:50:25.007	through this conference. 

2016-06-25 16:50:27.009	It has given us a lot to think 

2016-06-25 16:50:32.054	about and talk about going 

2016-06-25 16:50:34.054	forward. 

2016-06-25 16:50:34.055	Here we are. 

2016-06-25 16:50:38.054	We are in our last moments now. 

2016-06-25 16:50:39.046	I'm going to take a few minutes 

2016-06-25 16:50:39.047	right now to give some thanks to 

2016-06-25 16:50:42.045	people here in the room. 

2016-06-25 16:50:43.049	I really want to start out by 

2016-06-25 16:50:47.052	recognizing the volunteers who 

2016-06-25 16:50:49.047	have been helping us throughout. 

2016-06-25 16:50:54.047	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:50:55.11	Throughout these days. 

2016-06-25 16:50:58.171	Volunteers, if you are able, 

2016-06-25 16:51:03.253	could you stand? 

2016-06-25 16:51:03.254	If not, could you raise your 

2016-06-25 16:51:05.253	hand? 

2016-06-25 16:51:06.256	Thank you, thank you. 

2016-06-25 16:51:13.255	Now, I want to ask our host 

2016-06-25 16:51:17.3	committee to please stand and be 

2016-06-25 16:51:20.298	recognized. 

2016-06-25 16:51:20.298	These people are like honorary 

2016-06-25 16:51:22.299	TCG staff. 

2016-06-25 16:51:26.309	Speaking of TCG staff, I know 

2016-06-25 16:51:40.475	you might all be -- they are 

2016-06-25 16:51:43.391	probably asleep right now in 

2016-06-25 16:51:45.435	they be asleep after this last 

2016-06-25 16:51:47.471	panel? 

2016-06-25 16:51:48.467	If you're are able to stand, 

2016-06-25 16:51:50.466	please do. 

2016-06-25 16:51:50.467	We would like to give you all a 

2016-06-25 16:51:53.465	huge round of applause. 

2016-06-25 16:51:54.464	Because of their deep commitment 

2016-06-25 16:52:16.798	to teamwork and shared 

2016-06-25 16:52:17.797	leadership, they would never 

2016-06-25 16:52:17.798	give themselves this credit, but 

2016-06-25 16:52:19.798	I must recognize Devon 

2016-06-25 16:52:19.799	Brookshire and Gus for their 

2016-06-25 16:52:24.797	incredible leadership. 

2016-06-25 16:52:30.841	There's another TCG staffer who 

2016-06-25 16:52:34.896	I would like to ask to stand 

2016-06-25 16:52:35.893	again. 

2016-06-25 16:52:35.896	It is Emilia. 

2016-06-25 16:52:40.927	It is Emilia's 25th anniversary 

2016-06-25 16:52:56.926	at TCG. 

2016-06-25 16:52:59.926	We believe that attention must 

2016-06-25 16:53:02.929	he paid. 

2016-06-25 16:53:03.926	-- be paid. 

2016-06-25 16:53:14.966	Emelia, would you join me on 

2016-06-25 16:53:16.968	stage? 

2016-06-25 16:53:41.988	So, I want to say that we have 

2016-06-25 16:53:42.092	been talking a lot about how our 

2016-06-25 16:53:45.093	impact in people's lives 

2016-06-25 16:53:52.093	ripple 

2016-06-25 16:53:52.094	out and touch people we don't 

2016-06-25 16:53:57.143	know and we may not know. 

2016-06-25 16:55:15.643	[NO AUDIO] 

2016-06-25 16:55:22.059	OK, ready? 

2016-06-25 16:55:22.694	On three. 

2016-06-25 16:55:23.691	One, two, three. 

2016-06-25 16:55:25.691	[INAUDIBLE] 

2016-06-25 16:55:29.692	All right. 

2016-06-25 16:55:30.695	Thank you, Emilia. 

2016-06-25 16:55:33.692	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:55:34.694	Do you want to say something 

2016-06-25 16:56:01.777	really quick? 

2016-06-25 16:56:02.762	>> Thank you for all of that. 

2016-06-25 16:56:10.766	Many of you in this room know 

2016-06-25 16:56:15.763	what this means when I say this 

2016-06-25 16:56:20.772	-- head of the penny. 

2016-06-25 16:56:21.777	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:56:29.849	TERESA: 

2016-06-25 16:56:38.91	So, we are at the end of 

2016-06-25 16:56:38.911	our time today. 

2016-06-25 16:56:39.891	We have to run off to our planes 

2016-06-25 16:56:51.973	and trains and automobiles. 

2016-06-25 16:56:55.978	That Thursday feels about two 

2016-06-25 16:57:00.978	months ago of how Anna DeVere 

2016-06-25 16:57:00.978	Smith Reynold the ground on 

2016-06-25 16:57:04.972	which we stand and urge us to 

2016-06-25 16:57:05.975	move if we are moved. 

2016-06-25 16:57:05.975	I'm thinking about John and his 

2016-06-25 16:57:08.979	call for creative leadership, 

2016-06-25 16:57:08.979	daring enough to jump off hills. 

2016-06-25 16:57:11.977	I'm thinking about Stephen and 

2016-06-25 16:57:14.017	Nicole holding us accountable to 

2016-06-25 16:57:16.056	telling the truth. 

2016-06-25 16:57:19.058	And I'm thinking about Samantha 

2016-06-25 16:57:19.059	power and her advocacy of the 

2016-06-25 16:57:24.057	power of theater and her 

2016-06-25 16:57:24.058	constant reminder to live our 

2016-06-25 16:57:24.058	lives forward. 

2016-06-25 16:57:28.058	I'm thinking of a flood of 

2016-06-25 16:57:28.059	moments in breakout sessions and 

2016-06-25 16:57:30.058	affinity groups on the hill and 

2016-06-25 16:57:33.063	at the bar where a moment of 

2016-06-25 16:57:33.064	connection happened and 

2016-06-25 16:57:35.058	something new became possible. 

2016-06-25 16:57:36.061	Above all, I'm thinking about 

2016-06-25 16:57:39.058	the sounds of those kids 

2016-06-25 16:57:42.068	laughing in the halls, the 

2016-06-25 16:57:42.069	contagious energy of the teens 

2016-06-25 16:57:47.1	in attendance, the voices of 

2016-06-25 16:57:48.103	young refugees telling their 

2016-06-25 16:57:48.104	stories, the exchanges between 

2016-06-25 16:57:55.105	leaders and students, and 

2016-06-25 16:57:57.103	reports of an intergenerational 

2016-06-25 16:57:57.104	leaders of color meeting so big 

2016-06-25 16:57:59.101	it kept running out of chairs. 

2016-06-25 16:58:03.105	Yes. 

2016-06-25 16:58:06.108	They are the voices of our 

2016-06-25 16:58:09.105	legacy leaders who are here, the 

2016-06-25 16:58:10.152	voices of those who are not, the 

2016-06-25 16:58:14.159	voices of the indigenous peoples 

2016-06-25 16:58:14.16	on whose ground we stand. 

2016-06-25 16:58:16.198	I think of all these people 

2016-06-25 16:58:18.217	communicating a -- in English 

2016-06-25 16:58:20.276	and Spanish and Karen and ASL 

2016-06-25 16:58:24.266	across borders of conflict and 

2016-06-25 16:58:28.271	time, and I think if there is a 

2016-06-25 16:58:28.271	theater nation, these are its 

2016-06-25 16:58:32.314	sacred documents, its 

2016-06-25 16:58:32.315	Constitution and Bill of Rights, 

2016-06-25 16:58:35.314	written not in multi-documents 

2016-06-25 16:58:36.313	the living bodies, bodies 

2016-06-25 16:58:37.321	moving, jumping, truth telling, 

2016-06-25 16:58:41.312	connecting, laughing, weeping, 

2016-06-25 16:58:42.312	singing, and signing a 

2016-06-25 16:58:47.32	declaration of interdependence, 

2016-06-25 16:58:49.312	carried -- carrying 

2016-06-25 16:58:56.312	bodies from 

2016-06-25 16:58:56.313	one generation to the next. 

2016-06-25 16:58:56.314	Before we know it, it will be 

2016-06-25 16:58:59.361	June 2017 and we will gather 

2016-06-25 16:59:04.309	together again in Portland, 

2016-06-25 16:59:05.312	Oregon to reconnect with our 

2016-06-25 16:59:05.313	theater nation, our theater 

2016-06-25 16:59:07.311	family. 

2016-06-25 16:59:08.31	[APPLAUSE] 

2016-06-25 16:59:09.314	Therein is. 

2016-06-25 16:59:11.312	Thank you for being here. 

2016-06-25 16:59:14.319	See you at the party. 

2016-06-25 16:59:16.352	See you next year. 

2016-06-25 16:59:17.355	♪