Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2021 - 29

WE'VE HAD OUR TIME
TO GROW, TO BUILD, TO
LISTEN, TO LEARN, AND
WHEN THOSE CURTAINS
RISE AGAIN, WE WILL
SHOW EVERYONE,
PRESENT AND FUTURE,
WE DIDN'T COME THROUGH
2020 FOR NOTHING.
-HONORÉ
This darkness only allowed us to use our
energy to light up the rest of the world.
To quote everyone's favorite philosophical
snowman, Olaf, " We're calling this
controlling what you can when things
feel out of control. " We, very much like
Olaf and the gang, blindly moved into
the unknown, a moment of global crisis,
a moment of often feeling isolated and
terrified. And yet, we came through more
resolute, more connected than before.
And still, this doesn't even begin to include
every single person in this industry
who over the course of this year became
an activist.
When the conversations of equity and
reparations finally broke to the visible
national level of our country, we were
already on our feet, ready to stay standing
for our brothers and sisters who
deserved the recognition that their lives
mattered. We intimately understand, by
the nature of our profession, that the
most powerful and empathetic force in
this world is to share stories. And when
there are human beings, artists or not,
tradespeople or not, on this planet who
are not being heard, we rise up together
to amplify those voices. Some of us
marched, some of us created or helped
to create diverse art. And some of us simply
listened, as a means to begin making
a difference. But throughout this present-day
civil rights movement, all of us
understood the need for accountability
and the need for an inclusive establishment-an
inclusive establishment that is
as diverse in the stories it tells as it is in
the people who create, design, and perform
those stories.
For the incoming generation of theatre
makers, it is just as imperative that
we cannot forget this lesson of inclusion
as it is that we cannot forget how resilient
we've stood through pandemic and
political turmoil. Putting it in perspective,
we've spent the last year of our lives
teaching for the greatest reopening we
may ever experience in our lifetimes.
Let's marinate on that for a second.
We're all familiar with that electric
feeling of tech, the growing sensation
of anticipation, the frenetic energy of
willingly throwing ourselves into the unknown
to figure out how to make something
work-the mystery of wondering
how others will receive what you've
made, the excitement of when something
goes better than planned, the tension and
commiseration when something inexplicably
goes wrong, the will to get back up
anyway, and try it again, but overall, the
incomparable gift of having had the time
to craft something exceptional, something
beautiful, that you are now ready to
share with the world.
We may not be on our stages at this
very moment, but we still possess all of
this energy. We've had our time to grow,
to build, to listen, to learn, and when
those curtains rise again, we will show
everyone, present and future, we didn't
come through 2020 for nothing. To quote
our favorite snowman again, Olaf says,
" Someday I will see that this makes
sense. "
Even if you have had moments of
moving with uncertainty through this
unknown, the point stands that you are
still moving. Use what you've learned
here this week, keep focus and remain
steadfast in your pursuit of being a
member of this industry who knows no
limits. Allow your journey to continue
to surprise as you move forward, and
use it to make sense, even if you need to
look behind.
Theatre has not been hibernating nor
have we. We've adjusted. We've gotten uncomfortable.
We fought back. We pushed
our art and our craft and our entire beings
into everything we do, because it's
what we know. It's how we know to live.
It's how we know to be awake. It's how
we know to stay energized. I'm Adam
Honoré and thank you for attending
USITT virtually anywhere.
Adam Honoré is a Harlembased
lighting designer for
plays, musicals, and live
events and a University of
Oklahoma alumni. His
resume includes off-Broadway
productions, regional shows, national tours,
and international premieres. Internationally,
Honoré's work has been seen in Austria,
Canada, and the Philippines, where he
designed the international premiere of Fun
Home, featuring Tony Award winner Lea
Salonga. Honoré is a Drama Desk, Henry
Hewes, and Helen Hayes Award Nominee,
AUDELCO Award Recipient, and a
Member of Live Design magazine's " 30
Under 30. " Honoré has been a visiting artist
and guest lecturer at Princeton University,
Columbia University, and Texas Tech
University.
SUMMER 2021 | THEATRE DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY | 29
Theatre Design & Technology - Summer 2021

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