We do get mail asking why can't we (do) 'South Pacific,' ... I feel we need to put students in touch with new works so they can understand how changes affect the canon.

We have a responsibility to educate and train students, but we also have a responsibility within the larger community, ... Are we doing a play because designers need to know how a corset works, or because we have an urgent need to put ideas before an audience?

Our mission is to give students -- in range and depth -- the kind of experience that will prepare them. It's not about getting jobs but how to come to grips with the making of art and the changes in art that will influence future audiences.

We need audiences. Audiences are essential to the students' learning experience -- how to play to an audience and how different they are. Theater is meant to be performed. We are asking (audiences) to come on a journey with us (while) understanding that we are trying to accomplish a great deal.

Before e-mail, we spent a lot of time tracking students down, especially if they didn't keep in contact with their parents.

Ten minutes - that's how fast things happen today, ... There was a period there when I was measuring my e-mail in boxes and pounds.