ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book opens a window into Skyline High School, famous for “producing” Tom Hanks in the 1970s and now an underserved school where theater is given the lowest priority in the budget and in class scheduling. It describes an ambitious international project he constructed, featuring learning-disabled artists from three companies in three different countries. When funding productions and investing in theater companies, board members engage in a kind of dance, freighted by power on both sides – the power of artistic creativity on one side, the power of money and support on the other. Perhaps the greatest worldwide transformation, besides climate change, is in our relationship to the internet. For a large proportion of the world, virtual communication has exploded into all areas of life.
