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Pausing and Breathing: Two Sisters Deliver the ATHE 2018 Conference Keynote Address

2019; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 29; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1353/tt.2019.0001

1086-3346

Gabriela Serena Sanchez, Quiara Alegría Hudes,

Historical and Modern Theater Studies

Pausing and Breathing: Two Sisters Deliver the ATHE 2018 Conference Keynote Address Gabriela Serena Sanchez (bio) and Quiara Alegría Hudes (bio) This keynote address was originally delivered at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference in Boston in August 2018. Quiara Alegría Hudes and her sister Gabriela Serena Sanchez provided dialogue on the conference’s theme, “Theatres of Revolution: Performance, Pedagogy, and Protest” (coordinated by the vice president for the 2018 conference, Ann M. Shanahan). An edited version of Hudes’s speech appeared in the October issue of American Theatre and online at americantheatre.org. Quiara: Hey, Gab. Gabi: Hey, Q. Quiara: This is cool. We’ve never done this before. She’s my sister. Gabi: She’s my sister. Quiara: If you have further questions on that fact— Gabi: I get questioned about it a lot— Quiara: We will be handing out explanatory cards during the book signing directly after this. We made little fliers. Gabi: So where should we start? Quiara: Pimples? Gabi: Okayyyy. Quiara: My daughter got her first pimples. Gabi: Aw, tell her titi is proud. Quiara: At her request I bought her a face-cleaning brush. It cost twenty bucks, which seems expensive but less so when you consider its revolutionary design: “Our revolutionary rotary tool with ultra-soft fibers scrubs away more dirt, oil, and dead skin versus regular handwashing.” A lot of products have revolutionary design. Gabi: Yeah. Like the SpeedVault Handgun Safe. Revolutionary design. Quiara: An eyeliner pen that is not only liquid black, but also smudge-proof. Revolutionary design. Gabi: A TV wall-mount bracket for 46-inch to 90-inch flat screens. [End Page 1] Click for larger view View full resolution Fig. 1. Quiara Alegría Hudes and Gabriela Serena Sanchez delivering the keynote address at the 2018 ATHE conference: “Theatres of Revolution: Performance, Pedagogy, and Protest.” (Photo: Eric Ewald.) Quiara: An adjustable lightweight shower bench. Gabi: TubShroom! The Tub Drain Protector Hair Catcher/Strainer in a gorgeous shade of blue. Quiara: Being revolutionary costs as little as $10.99. Gabi: Shipping is extra, because revolution is not eligible for Amazon Prime. Quiara: Okay, let me turn back to that face brush I bought my daughter. At least that product actually rotates. The soft bristles spin in a circle. And that is actually a revolution. It revolves, turns back on itself, perpetually anew, perpetually starting over. Maybe today, Gabi, we should look inward, turn back on ourselves. Maybe you gotta turn back on yourself for real revolution to be possible. Gabi: Cool. After we each speak, then we can synthesize our work and be in conversation. (Gabi sits while Quiara delivers her remarks) Quiara: I want to start with love. I love this woman up here with me, my sister, who will always be my baby doll. Fellow travelers, I love every one of you here today. I suspect there is at least one love story in your life that blazed the trail to this very gathering. Maybe you loved the way lights felt on your face, the blindness as you looked out at the invisible audience bank. Maybe you love backstage anonymity, the chaotic machinery and runaround that keeps a performance seamless. Maybe you were seven and loved the first play you saw. Back then, you probably loved it more than you understood it. Remember how glorious that was, immersion in an experience you didn’t totally understand? Why do grownups cling to “getting it”? What an unadventurous, small parameter for experiencing art. —Tomasito, what do you want to be when you grow up? [End Page 2] —A firefighter! —Luzecita, what about you? —When I grow up, I want to go to the theatre and get it! Maybe, like me, you loved a cousin and wanted to tell their story. Maybe, like me, there was a mentor. In my case, Paula Vogel and her warm ebullient enthusiasm. One time, in our sixteen-year friendship, I saw her lash out with anger and self-defense at a bunch of whiny MFA students (hint...