24 years

I swore to myself to create a dialogue between Theater and the world in which we live. Today, that oath is stronger than ever.

On 9/11, 2001 the twin towers fell. And the world changed forever. That significant change made me reflect deeply on the school I was about to open. A week later, I opened the doors of Theater for the People to create a theater for the people: self-critical and of social denunciation with which to look at the truth in the face, without fear of saying things clearly.

My goal in school and when making Theater has always been to speak to the times we live in, that acting serves to get to know ourselves with our classmates, and that the role of Theater is to make the audience see itself. We face the horror that no one wants to discuss, hoping the truth will eventually be heard. This belief has endured more than twenty years of wars. Three financial crises. Three years without Government. Austerity plan, COVID. Millions dead. Lockdown. Curfew. Masks. Corruption. Lies. Vaccines. The cost of living. Inflation. Invasion of Ukraine. Decapitations. Violations. Murders and more than 40,000 Palestinians dead as I write these words. Climate crisis. Assasinations of women. 

The night before lockdown, I thought it could be the last time I saw my theatre. I reflected on all the effort, sacrifice, and love we had put into it. The idea of never doing theater again seemed unbearable. As I watched the blinds closing while walking up Molino de Viento Street, I refused to accept the possibility of losing the theatre and having 20 years of my life stolen from me. And yet here we are. During the first 24 hours of confinement, there was a moment when we indeed showed our best selves. In the first Zoom meeting with my students, all that mattered was looking at each other, listening, feeling, and recognizing each other. It was then that we realized the significance of what we had lost, and acting took its rightful place as a tool that heals us and gives meaning to our lives.

When I opened the theater in 2001, I naively thought that it could change the world. More than twenty years later, with more than 150 productions behind us, I believe that it cannot, but it can offer the opportunity to realize that the future is not written.