Pi Theatre

DAY FIVE

The sessions in DC started quite late. Today’s session on dramaturging the museum started at 1:30, but since I was using the whole city as my point of departure, I decided head off on my own.

The Spy Museum store clerk liked my Motherland Sputnik t-shirt. I was pleased.

My first session of the day was on International Dramaturgy and it was held at the Canadian embassy, which is a truly beautiful building designed by Arthur Erickson.

I was thrilled to meet panelist Robyn Quick (Towson University), a kindred spirit who has taken an interest in the new Russian dramatists. I directed concert performances of The Russian National Postal Service by Oleg Bogaev and Terrorism by the Presnyakov brothers for Theatre Conspiracy a couple of years back. There is fuel for the future in that relationship.

A group of us had dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The mole was great, but being surrounded by Spanish speakers, it occurred to me that I see more Spanish language signs in Portland than I did in Washington. I guess the unofficial second language of the United States has yet to find a seat at the table.

The evening’s organized activity was a tour of the monuments of the National Mall at night. They were very beautiful, to look at, and climbing the stairs to the Lincoln Monument was actually quite moving – not so much because of the idea of Lincoln, but more about the incline of the stairs and the size of the image that greets you at the top of them.

I felt like Moses climbing Mt. Sinai to have a chat with God.  I guess my attitude illustrates a kind of psychological literacy that theatre artists specialize in.

The rest of the night was spent back at the conference bar where a group of Canadians discussed national identity and other things.

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