Lesson Learned? Teach, Teacher, Teachest

Any nationalized education program is a platform for social indoctrination. From a patriotic pledge to specifically chosen literary texts to emphases on certain disciplines (like, say, math and science) which are meant to drive young citizens toward ​specific beliefs and behaviors. In some cases the intent is benevolent; ​at​ others manipulative and fascistic. The latest production from One Eighth Theater (in residence at INTAR Theatre), Teach, Teacher, Teachest (based on Eugène Ionesco’s 1951 Absurdist play, La Leçon)—a piece about a mad professor tutoring a naïve, young student and ultimately murdering her—explores the exploitive potential of education. This update (by David Koteles) is largely contextual, providing contemporary references and settings. One Eighth Theater’s recent productions have focused on both the absurd and on subject matter deliberately left open to interpretation and debate. Teach, Teacher, Teachest has a lot in common with last year’s Ubu (based on Jarry’s Ubu Roi) in both style and content. Director and performer (as the Professor) Daniel Irizzary makes the most of his manic energy once again, spewing his rat-a-tat-tat dialog as if to challenge the audience to keep pace with him. There is a good deal of information layered in his words and actions and it’s a good thing the play’s run time is a mere 70 minutes, for his pace is exhausting. Like Ubu, The Professor is a megalomaniac with countless other mental disorders.