Noteworthy Quotes

—▪ Kevin McKendrick: I wish [theatre] played a bigger role [in my community]. Unfortunately the majority of theatre goers attend shows presented by larger theatre companies primarily because they provide diversion and entertainment. My one wish before I die is that theatre is celebrated in our community for more than that—as a place where we go to for inspiration, wisdom, and insight into our daily lives.” \\ Theatre Alberta News, Fall 2008:11

—▪ Sophocles (496-406 BC): I depict men as they ought to be, but Euripides portrays them as they are. \\ from Aristotle’s Poetics, p. 68

—▪ Jan Heather: The project of theatre in all its forms is to humanize. There are many forces at work in this world that isolate and dehumanize us. Theatre is the opposite force …” \\ Theatre Alberta News, Spring 2008:4

—▪ Thomas Moore: Unfortunately, our society has reduced the life of art to entertainment. We don’t need to be entertained nearly as much as we need to give the soul the images [and stories] it craves. Yet we allow Hollywood and the entertainment industry to distract us, to sell us superficial stories with exploitative characters and formulaic plots. \\ “Embracing the Everyday” from Handbook for the Soul, p. 30

—▪ Andre Bazin: The spiritual quality of art suffered its decline at the expense of “realism.” \\ quoted in BYU Studies: Film issue, p. 271

—▪ Dana Gioia: The role of culture must go beyond economics. \\ Commencement address at Sanford U. 17 June 2007

—▪ Story is more than a passing fancy or custom. It is a universal need. … Stories do more than entertain. … Stories in large form help us understand the world, and society, and the culture we struggle to shape. Theatre is the laboratory ideally suited to present and examine those stories. \\ Theatre Alberta News, Summer 2007:14

—▪ Stella Adler: Life beats down and crushes the soul … and art reminds you that you have one.” \\ Theatre Alberta Buzz (online Newsletter) Nov. 2008

—▪ The D’s, Duane Hiatt and Dick Davis: Participants on both sides of the footlights will have to support and demand entertainment that is not only clean but meaningful and well-done. “Mormons and Entertainment,” New Era, Mar. 1974, 12–13

—▪ Keith Engar: The Mormon playwright needs our help as never before if we are to have the benefits of his talent. He needs time to write, he needs a place to write, and he needs a theater in which to produce his plays. I for one am highly optimistic that these needs are going to be met in many different ways, and I hope that ... Church members will be aware of what these needs are and do their part to meet them. “Q&A: Questions and Answers: What has been and what is the role of theater in the Church?” New Era, Sept. 1972, 47 by Dept. of Theater head, Univ. of Utah, YMMIA General Bd.