A puppet, for example, is just a piece of wood, a couple of rivets, but put them together, and if you know how to do it, and the audience's imagination joins in with this, then a miracle will come out of that machine. That is what we and the audience do in the theatre - we create miracles in that space.
Often, particularly towards the end of the process, I think of myself less as a theatre director and more as someone who just directs the traffic. My job is to move the ideas and bits of the show into the places where they work best. Sometimes my job is also to say, 'No.'
Interpretation
What this quote means
A theatre director's role is about guiding creative ideas to their best expression.
In this quote, Robert Lepage emphasizes the importance of a director's role in the creative process as one that involves not only organization and management but also discerning judgment. By likening his work to directing traffic, he highlights the necessity of moving creative elements to their optimal positions and sometimes making difficult decisions to omit certain ideas that do not serve the overall vision, underscoring the collaborative yet hierarchical nature of theatrical production.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about the responsibilities of a theatre director during a drama class.
More from Robert Lepage
All quotes →I will always demand the right for theatre to talk about anything and anyone. Without exception. None.
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