At the beginning, I said it was like the circus was coming to town and we were getting ring-side seats. Now, not only are they getting ring-side seats, but they are in the act. ... They are actually doing film work, which is great.

One of our efforts in doing a lot of Shakespeare is, the more we do it, the more proficient our students become, and the greater ability we have to make the stories clear for our audience. Once people come to a show, they're surprised by how accessible Shakespeare and his plots can be.

We try to do a Shakespeare play every year, because I feel that it provides the best tool for actor training. It's challenging in performance and language, physicality, analytical skills, and this particular one is along the serious lines, which seemed to fit the bill in terms of the kind of genre we wanted to explore. I call this the Sunday 'Times' Crossword Puzzle for actors.

If you found turkeys last year, you'll likely find them in the same place this spring. Things are beginning to green up and turkeys are starting to hang out in those open areas.

We hadn't played in awhile, so we were a little rusty in the beginning. But we got stronger as the game went on.

We are already beginning to see that played out with the fund-raisers that are being organized by Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr. and others, ... Music will be one of the catalysts that help revive the city.