Discipline — both mental and physical — is crucial.

I remember from my father's funeral that the minister kept using a metaphor about life of a prism. And I took that away like a cherished image.

I am interested in personal stories because that's when people become expressive, spontaneous and heartfelt.

I see myself as not a typical theater person, but a person who uses the theater as a place to meet people and explore ideas.

I was a mimic when I was a child. I mimicked the teacher and made friends that way, actually. That was a very subversive activity, because I was a goody-goody who never got in trouble. But if I went off in the corner and mimicked the teacher, people loved it.

Self-esteem does not come from surrounding yourself with people and things that seem to increase your value. Real self-esteem is an integration of an inner-value with things in the world around you.

I feel like my work has been my path to freedom from having grown up in a segregated environment.