The 2011 IT Awards

By August Schulenburg

There is much to say about the 2011 IT Awards, and very little time for me to say it, leaving momentarily as I am (along with my beautiful new wife and Flux founder, Heather Cohn) on our honeymoon to Spain. However, I thought I would share the acceptance speech I gave, as much of it was directed to past Members and current Friends of Flux who may not haven been there (or watched the exciting live stream). For those who are curious, you can read the script for the play that we staged before the speech here.

Acceptance for the 2011 Caffé Cino Fellowship Award
Perhaps unsurprisingly, our play ran a little long, so I’ll try to keep my speechifying tendencies under control, but…

We need to thank Shay, Nick, Jason, the IT Awards Staff and volunteers, and the Honorary Awards Committee; we are humbled and thankful for this award. And though I hold this award in my single hand, I call upon your imaginary powers to see in me the six current Flux members on stage; our past Members Joe, Candice, David, Felicia, Cotton, Michael, Angela, Jake, Christina and Jason; and the more than 100 strong core artists and audience that make up the Friends of Flux; our mission is to build a creative home, and so this award belongs to everyone in our family.

However! The spirit of this award is ours only on load, handed like a torch by previous winners and past generations of artists – some of whom we’ve honored tonight – whose work carved out the space we currently play in; a space not defined by theatre or neighborhood, but by daring and desire; and this award is a call to us to live up to and enlarge that legacy; to pass on a more imaginative and compassionate community to whoever comes next; because this award would mean nothing without the living legacy it represents; the crazy, cacophonous community of which we are but a small part; and to that community, so many of who we love and admire and are here tonight; we say thank you, and we can’t wait to continue the great work together with you.