Stepping off the subway, Arlene and I look at the GPS on our phones confused, trying to figure out which way INTAR Theatre is. As we look up at all the bright signs, we figure it must be toward all the other theatres on Broadway. Suddenly the blue dot seems to be getting farther and farther away from the pinpoint at INTAR. Puzzled, we turn around and start heading toward the pinpoint. After walking several blocks, we finally reach 500 W. 52 St. Now how do we get to the 4^th floor? Should we listen to Professor Healey’s warning about the creepy elevator? Sweat dripping from our foreheads, we decide that the elevator can’t be thaaaat bad. We push the button for the 4^th floor, but the elevator seems to be moving down. Unexpectedly, the door opens to a brick wall with a note apologizing, “Sorry for the inconvenience. You’ll be getting to your floor right away.” The door closes and up we go. When the elevator door opens again to a room, I let out a big sigh of relief. We are greeted and handed a playbill, then find ourselves seats in a sketchy waiting area. What has Professor Healey got us into?

David Koteles play, Teach Teacher Teachest, is a captivating adaptation of Eugene Ionesco’s The Lesson. The three actors were able to turn a small room into what felt like a huge theatre. The set was used as a jungle gym, a house, and a classroom all in one. The interactive play made us all laugh until ours bellies ached, but it definitely had some hidden meanings as well. Behind all the jokes, the truth about the American education system was revealed. The professor would ask the student questions and when she would say an answer that he didn’t approve of, which wasn’t necessarily wrong, he would call her stupid. He would make up absurd answers to his own questions that didn’t even make sense. I guess that is what school feels like sometimes, when you try your hardest but still get the answer wrong. For instance, on my chemistry quiz last week, I did all the work for a problem right but rounded my answer wrong and received a 0/10 for the entire problem. Sometimes all your effort doesn’t matter and the play really captivated the struggles of being a student.

The play ends both dramatically and comically when the teacher smashes a watermelon, which represents him killing his student. This made me think about the faults in the education system. Many students feel so uncomfortable going to school every day that they get depressed. This is an obviously sign that something isn’t right. Students shouldn’t have to choose between their grades and their mental and physical health. As a student, the play really appealed to me. Although it was really funny and I enjoyed myself, it allowed me to think about the difficulties of being a student and opened my eyes to the reality of our education system.