When I was thinking about The Lion King, I said, we have to do what theater does best. What theater does best is to be abstract and not to do literal reality.

Some people become dullards, but as children we are all creative. It's in the programming, the socialization, that we lose our sense of play.

What I don't have in theater is editing.

Limitations force you to find the essence of what you want to say, which is one of the most important things to know for an artist.

There is incredible power in the arts to inspire and influence.

When I was growing up, there were a lot more arts in the public schools. Politically, America has screwed up on that.

My God, it transformed me. My life changed.