The capacity to identify with another is greater in some of us than in others. It takes practice. And commitment. What does it feel like on the other side of that face we see opposite us. We believe that we are similar enough, that we suffer the same kind of pain and enjoy the same kind of pleasure. But it is a natural human tendency to project the worst motivations on people when we get in disagreements with them.

Theatre can be one of the greatest antidotes to this destructive capacity. When we see and identify with behavior on the other side of the footlights, we take a wonderful leap into the heart of another that can transform our capacity to identify.

Everytime we start a new production, this time, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," I remind myself how deeply spiritual the work we do in the theatre is and honor our charge to reach deep in our souls for the spiritual truth of our characters and our stories, so we can serve our community with a connection so vivid and palpable that it shakes us and makes us proud of and humble in our humanity.

Let's dedicate our work on "Cuckoo's Nest" to all those who have been squashed, limited, or destroyed by the awful power of institutions.

Go team!

The lights go out, the actors bow, the audience applauds, perhaps they put a few buck in the jar, but what happens then? How does the theatrical event affect lives, how long does the experience hang in the mind of the witnesses.

I find myself often standing alone in the theatre after the show thinking, "Wait! Let's talk about this." I'm hoping we can build a culture of dialogue after the show and correspondence after the night.

Let's try to facilitate more post show discussions and a flow of dialogue that lingers. How can we best do that?

I read this terrific little book called "Tribes" It's a marketing book, but it struck me that SF Playhouse is a "Tribe." We've all been brought together by a love of high impact intimate theatre. The book suggsted that in a good tribe, the communication flows easily from leaders to tribe, tribe to leaders and tribe to tribe. It would be so great if we could make that happen at SFPH

Theatre is not the end result but the springboard that throws our audience into a process of re-examination, growth, change, action. Then everything we do must be based on what we want the audience to leave with.

How can we measure this? Keep them around. Make sure that the theatre space can accommodate a dialogue with the artists afterwards. Or at least a dialogue between witnesses.

Working on a new mission that expresses how we aim to change our community:

Here's a try.

To promote brotherhood and understanding in our community by harnessing the power of intimate, professional theatre to amplify our empathy for the experience of others.

Or:

To harness the power of intimate, professional theatre to promote brotherhood and understanding in our community by amplifying our capacity to identify with the experience of others.

Or:

A promise:

We promise to present adventurous, professional theatre that wil resonate beyond the final curtain.