The World's Your Stage

THE GRADUATION SPEECH

You don’t have to read this book from start to finish to get the full benefit from it, but we couldn’t resist penning some proper closing remarks. This book started as a class, and this chapter is a version of the presentation given during the last class session each spring, just weeks before the students start their post-college careers. It’s something to send them, and now you, off on a good note.

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We have seen that the serious American performing arts industry is a complex creature to understand. It’s highly fragmented, relatively small economically, buffeted by changes in technology, and shrinking. Where does that leave ...