Hey internet users, you may not know this, but 906 Theatre Company has all sorts of opinions. Shocking, I know. However, these opinions greatly influence the kind of works that we look to produce. During one of our heated and often violent discussions, near the time of our formation, we decided that we wanted 906 to be more than a way to produce the kind of work that we wanted. We also wanted it to be a kind of open forum for everyone to talk about theatre. We want to know what people are watching, what people want to watch, and what people wish they never had to watch again. To that end, we came up with Dial 906. Dial 906 is a themed theatrical discussion aimed at promoting informed and heated debate on a variety of subjects. The hope was that anybody in the city, who has anything to say, will be given the chance to say it. If you feel particularly passionate about the state of theatrical affairs in Chicagoland and beyond, we want to know. So often theatre companies get absorbed in creating theatre that they believe "fits their mission statement." Now, I am all for following a strict mission statement, but I think in order for a mission to succeed, you need to understand that success means different things to different people. I think the issue that we touched on last week describes exactly what I mean. I think most people would find Shakespeare to be a competent, important, and brilliant author. 906 is an author based theatre company and Shakespeare fits that model. However, Ira Glass would not agree and if he were the producer of 906 he would not see Shakespeare as a fit for our mission statement. You see "good theatre" is amazingly subjective. the only way 906 Theatre Company can continue as a company that serves the theatergoers is to know what the theatergoers think. So Dial 906 serves a double purpose: it allows us (all theatrically inclined people) to vent our beliefs in a constructive atmosphere AND it gives us some insight into what people believe is "good theatre." So I encourage anyone, who wants to be a part of something bigger, to come out and join us for Dial 906. Out first discussion is on Modern Theatre vs. Classical Theatre. I can think of no better place to begin.