When I was a kid, my grandfather said that "if you say a word often enough, it becomes you." Thinking of that later in life gave me this idea that I could try to become America by learning the words of people from many aspects of the country.

I mean, I think that - as an actress, in particular, I'm basically a fool, and I see the world upside down.

Artists are the people that no matter what, pick up the pen, pick up a paintbrush. They take the time to translate what is happening to create something that resonates deeply with the rest of the people that are caught in the middle of their own reality.

Poverty makes it very difficult in an already competitive world for kids to get on a straight track where they can actually love learning.

My main concern is theater, and theater does not reflect or mirror society. It has been stingy and selfish, and it has to do better.

You know, real artists, we expose our flaws. We long for intimacy.

We who are in the arts are at the risk of being in a popularity contest rather than a profession. If that fact causes you despair . . . pick another profession. Your desire to communicate must be bigger than your relationship with the chaotic and unfair realities . . . We have to create our own standards of discipline.