Theresa Smalec - PhD Candidate, Performance Studies, NYU

Dear Richard Gough and Judie Christie,

I was saddened to learn that the Centre for Performance Research is
threatened with a massive loss of funding, and thus with the possibility of
being unable to sustain its thirty-year commitment to our field. I hope that
those who control your future funding will reconsider. It would be
devastating on so many levels to lose CPR as we know it.

My first encounter with CPR was in my first year of grad school at NYU. I
came over to Aberystwyth from New York City. What I remember most (aside
from the sheep in the fields, the peace and quiet, the change of pace, and
the spectacular body of water below the even more striking cliffs) was your
warmth.

I remember thinking that this was how *every* Performance Studies
international conference should be: inclusive, well-organized, fun,
attentive to the fact that people would be disoriented and lonely and
confused and excited and looking for things to do. "Here Be Dragons" stands
out in my mind as a model of interpersonal excellence, and as a model for
integrating theoretical inquiries with performance research. I felt a sense
of adventure in Wales, a sense that I was learning something new at every
turn, especially when someone analyzed a soccer game (football, as you guys
call it) between Wales and England at the closing plenary!

I still think very fondly of my short time in Wales. And over the years, I
have come to know more of the work done by your organization through your
journal, PERFORMANCE RESEARCH, and through your recent book, A PERFORMANCE
COSMOLOGY. I am impressed by the lives you've touched in many different
countries. I am moved by your own lifework, and hope you will be able to
continue doing what you do so well.

And as I finish up my dissertation, I realize now how glad I am that I met
you at the very start. Your organization is a role model in my mind for how
scholars/performers/people should be in the world.

Sincere best wishes,

Theresa Smalec
PhD Candidate, Performance Studies, NYU