On Saturday, September 20th 2014, I got off the subway at 7pm, without a clue where the INTAR Theater was. I walked alone, with my phone in my hand opened to the map application, to make sure I was walking in the right direction. After this long walk, I finally stopped in front of this regular, run-down looking building, which I would have walked right by if I did not notice the “INTAR Theater” sign in front of it. So I walked inside, and entered this creepy and very cramped elevator until I arrived at the 4th floor, and met with my fellow peers in this shady waiting room. At 8pm, we were escorted to the theater and as we walked in, I couldn’t help but notice the strange and repetitive French music playing in the background and this man dressed as a woman, lounging around in the neon-colored, jungle-gym set design. As I stared at the set, the man, and listened to the irritating music, I could not help but think to myself: What kind of play is this going to be?
Although the play surprised me by how bizarre and absurd it was, I thought Teach, Teacher, Teachest was a hilarious and very interesting play, filled with fantastic and fearless actors, a wonderful set, unique costumes, and intriguing underlying meanings. As the actors jumped around set and did random dance numbers and acrobatics, it was hard to understand the point of the entire piece as a whole. However, after taking much thought, I realized the purpose of the play was to shed light on how horrible today’s education system is, and how many people are condemned if they do not believe in the big business, and corrupt government of today.
This main idea was especially shown to me when the professor (Daniel Irizarry) was trying to convince the student (Laura Rivera) that the rich are “job creators” while the poor immigrants are the “takers.” This outrageous concept, which the professor highly believes in, was incorporated in the play to show the audience the dangerous ideas in today’s society, where the rich are defended and have all the power in the world while the poor/immigrants are neglected and are only looked at as the “bad guys.” This is also shown when the professor states, “Do you think Thomas Jefferson wanted open borders? He didn’t.” When the student asks what the historical American said about them, the professor proudly states, “Absolutely nothing. So one can only assume he was dead against them.” This ignorant statement alone supports the main idea that many Americans look down upon immigrants and poor people, without having proper justification. They are just brain washed by the big businesses and government to believe in these outrageous assumptions, which are spreading fast to the minds of our youth.
In the end of the play, the student ends up getting killed because of how she questions the professor’s beliefs. The death of the student symbolizes the condemnation of the people who are against the big businesses, and the corrupt government—showing the audience how difficult it is getting to fight against the toxic ideas of today.
If I could see this play one more time, I definitely would. However, I would pay less attention to the dancing and hilarity of it, and would be more attentive to the underlying meanings so that I can get a better idea of what the writer was trying to accomplish.
