Jeanine Tesori Speaks to Students: 'There is No Difference Between the World and What We Bring Onto The Stage'

On November 4th, Jeanine Tesori was the keynote speaker at the 4th annual STAGE THE CHANGE: THEATRE AS A SOCIAL VOICE event. The event was co-sponsored by the Tilles Center at Long Island University and the Happauge Public Schools. Tesori spoke to over 500 area high school students.

According to Howard Sherman's website, Tesori discussed how theater can unite us all. She says, "There is no difference between the world and what we bring onto the stage. Therefore, if you are in theatre, if you are in the arts, you are a citizen of the world. Your job is to reveal the thing. You are agents, and not so secret, about what the message is."

She continues saying, "We are more alike than we are unalike. On a cellular level, if you look at the earth as a giant cell, it always wants to divide - always, always, always. That's how cells get to be two cells - you learned it in biology, mitosis. It pulls apart and it divides. The world is going to want you to divide, however you divide it up, that is what it's going to want you to do. Your job as a citizen, as an artist, as a filmmaker, as playmaker, as an activist, as an actor, is to unite. Press against the thing that divides us."

Tesori speaks to the ephemeral nature of theater. She says, "Theatre will never die because stories will never die. You can have film - and I love film, film is amazing - but it does not require your presence in order to be. Theatre requires participation."

She also told students how she approaches a script. Tesori says she's become more aware of time when it comes to scripts. She says, "Time is the only thing we run out of, and I'm really aware of it now, just because of my age I'm super-aware of it. So I want to be aware when I look at a story and I think, why am I writing it, why should I write it, what do I have to give to it? What is the metaphor?"

Tesori left students with some important words of wisdom. She ends saying, "Make it yours, that's the first thing. The second thing is: write bad ideas down. Don't not write the bad ideas. The bad ideas are the gateway drug to the good idea."

To read the full transcript of Jeanine Tesori's keynote speech click here