My generation of director has no illusions that we are going to be fed and cared for by subsidized theater in America.

- Diane Paulus

The musical theater is a glorious and distinctly American innovation in the history of theater.

- Diane Paulus

When you're a freelance director, you are hired to create the art, and it kind of stops there.

- Diane Paulus

I think actually what keeps the intensity manageable - it's a little counterintuitive - is that it's changing all the time. Every week is different for me.

- Diane Paulus

Politics, to a degree, is about legislation, administration. You can't be there in the trenches.

- Diane Paulus

I am always looking for what piece, what artists, what playwrights, what directors, what subject matter is going to catalyze an audience.

- Diane Paulus

I give so much of myself to my work; I want to be with people who are going to be there with me.

- Diane Paulus

I want an audience that will come sitting forward in their seats.

- Diane Paulus

I've gotten to the point that I don't even know what tomorrow brings. When I'm teaching, obviously I'm in town for the class every week.

- Diane Paulus

I'm sorry, but to ask an audience these days to invest three hours in a show requires your heroine be an understandable and fully rounded character.

- Diane Paulus

The mission of the A.R.T. is to expand the boundaries of theater through works of the canon and the new works of tomorrow.

- Diane Paulus

Theatre and opera were always the twin kingdoms that I felt I had to conquer, because they were my parents' favorites.

- Diane Paulus

At the core of what I'm doing is a belief in the audience, a belief that populism doesn't mean dumbing down theater, but rather giving the audience a voice and a role in experiencing theater.

- Diane Paulus

I had to drop a boulder to wake people up about the A.R.T. We've done that, and now we have audiences again who want cutting-edge work, who want to be challenged, but who also won't be falling asleep at the theater.

- Diane Paulus

I knew ART was was going to give me this opportunity to expand my role as a director and finally let me have a seat at the table where I could get involved in these policy discussions and producing discussions and, frankly, the financial discussions.

- Diane Paulus

I really challenge every actor at the beginning of a process, and I always say, 'I have an idea that I'm going to bring to the table. I hope and expect that you will have an idea and bring it to the table. But the way I really want to work is that together we're going to have a third idea that is better than either of our ideas.'

- Diane Paulus

I think every theater in America wants a younger audience... and you can't just hope to have a younger audience, you have to program things that audience is going to connect with.

- Diane Paulus

I think in our culture there's been a tendency for people to blame the audience. There is a tendency in our industry to say, 'The audience has left the building. People don't want culture anymore.'

- Diane Paulus

It's freeing to not be caught up in your own personal baggage.

- Diane Paulus

I'm always interested in working with people who are good team players - that are selfless that way in their interests and dedication to the project.

- Diane Paulus