Does It Pay To Be First?

Premieres draw attention to theatre companies. But what do they do for the company? “Anybody who’s running a theatre in America today has to serve two masters: You have to serve the aesthetics of the community and give them shows they want to see, and we have to serve the art form or else we’re just doing museum pieces. Theatre is live and future-oriented, and I’d hate to think we’re just doing the familiar. Institutional theatre has got to take risks.”