Chapter 1 The Tao that can be told Is not the eternal Tao Surrounded in light It is cloaked in darkness It is the unseen Resounding Yet inaudible It is the unheard It flows from Stage Left To Stage Right And envelopes all between This is essential to the show Yet the actor understands it not	Chapter 2 Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty Because there is ugliness Good owes its existence to evil And the Tech owes existence to the actor As male needs female As the foolish need guidance So does the actor need the Tech Therefore, the Tech goes forth Cloaked in darkness Bathed in silence Radiating the Tao Creating, yet not possessing Working, yet not taking credit In this way the ten thousand things are preserved	Chapter 3 The Tao is an empty vessel; it is used But never filled Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things Change the lamp Adjust the level Call the cue Clean the shirt Oh, hidden deep, but ever present It comes from the darkness and flows into the light It is the keeper of our Art
Chapter 4 When the Tao is present in the universe The horses haul the manure What happens as one of the ten thousand things becomes misaligned? The one who has not the Tao panics And is up to their neck in manure The Tech, however, abides in the Tao And the Tao in the Tech Therefore, when one of the ten thousand things is misaligned The Tech realigns it And manure is hauled away Or if it cannot be realigned So what? We still get paid	Chapter 5 Actors are stupid	Chapter 6 The wise actor hears of the Tao And strives to follow it The mediocre actor hears of the Tao And gives it its due respect The foolish actor hears of the Tao And laughs And the sound and lights are cut off The actor left setless Propless And naked This is the way of the Tao
Chapter 7 The audience is gullible They see the actor as a god The Tech is wise The Tech sees the actor as a child The actor must be made up And have their hair done The actor needs to be dressed And led to props The Tech does not need such things Silence is the language of the Tech Movements are like the wind While in the care of the Tech props do not break Nor are the lights dropped from on high There is not panic within the Tech There is instead the peace of the Tao Which allows patience to deal with the actor Yea, even the child actor Without beating what little sense there is in the actor out (at least until the end of the run)	Chapter 8 The greatest virtue is to follow Tao And Tao alone For it is well known that a Tech can act But the Tech will never be an actor Just as an actor may attempt to tech But will never be a Tech The actor's art is internal The actor cannot help but become self-centered The actor is a victim of the trade Which leaves the actor oblivious The Tech's art is external And cannot help but be concerned with others The Tech is the benefactor of the trade Which condition the Tech to be aware To act is to know oneself To Tech is to know all in one's environment	Chapter 9 A good walker makes no noise A good speaker arrangement Gives no feedback A good actor breaks not the props Nor does one break the furniture A Tech takes care of them all And abandons no one Taking care of all things and abandoning nothing This is called "abiding in the Tao” What is a Tech? The keeper of the actor What is an actor? The charge of the Tech If the Tech is not respected And the actor is not cared for Confusion will arise This is the crux of illusion
Chapter 10 Whenever you advise a designer in the way of the Tao Counsel him not to break the laws of nature Do this also in the guidance of the director Animals, Trees, Children Such things should never cross the stage When a designer or director Conspires against nature The ten thousand things are upset Yet, the Tao attempts to accommodate The Tao is great But even greatness Cannot overcome fate For it is written There are no stupid concepts Merely directors and designers unschooled in the Tao Producing the most intelligent concepts They can come up with at the time	Chapter 11 The Tao is forever undefined Ubiquitous yet intangible It alludes the masses When designers and directors abide in it The ten thousand things rejoice If directors and actors could harness it The ten thousand things would naturally obey The dramatic and technical would intertwine And all would abide in the Tao Once the whole is divided, the parts need names There are already enough names One must know when to stop Knowing when to stop averts trouble Knowledge and wisdom are the companions of the Tao	Chapter 12 No acting please
Chapter 13 Knowing ignorance is strength Ignoring knowledge is sickness If one is sick of sickness, then one is not sick The Tech is not sick because the Tech is sick of sickness But because the Tech is sick of actors The great Tao flows everywhere Both to Stage Left And to Stage Right The ten thousand things depend on it It fulfills its purpose silently And makes no claim It nourishes the ten thousand things And yet is not their lord It anoints the Tech And enhances technical ability Therefore the Tech knows self and others Knowing self-respect, yet not arrogance Letting go of this and choosing that The Tao of the Tech is impartial And stays with the Tech at all times

-by Earnest Mazique-