The work of the director is the work of constructing the shot list from the script.

Every scene should be able to answer three questions: "Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don't get it? Why now?"

The pain of losing is diverting. So is the thrill of winning. Winning, however, is lonelier, as those you've won money from are not likely to commiserate with you. Winning takes getting used to.

Society functions in a way much more interesting than the multiple-choice pattern we have been rewarded for succeeding at in school. Success in life comes not from the ability to choose between the four presented answers, but from the rather more difficult and painfully acquired ability to formulate the questions.

My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line.

Cultivate a love of skill. Learn theatrical skills. They will give you continual pleasure, self-confidence, and link you to fifty thousand years of the history of our profession.

I'm afraid of only two things: being lazy and being cowardly.