I love directing. I’ve loved it since I took my first stab at it back in 1990something.

I started in community theatre, where I watched others in charge of the shows I was in and said, “Hell, I can do that!” A lot of chutzpah for somebody who was only 22 at the time, but I didn’t let that deter me. In rapid succession, I took on some of the most complicated and known shows in theatre. I even put the Titanic on stage. I loved every minute of it. Then I took an extended break, and when I came back, was surprised to find that I loved it all over again.

There is something about watching actors breathe life into a script that you’ve read fifty times before auditions even start. Or a script that doesn’t really seem that funny on the page, but you cast the actors who can make you laugh while they read for the part. It’s even more magical when, just before you move into the theatre, they can still make you smile. Then make your friends laugh. Then total strangers. And, hopefully, reviewers.

When it works, you feel like you can take on the world. When it’s tough, you buckle down and do the best you can for your cast to figure out how to make it work. And somehow, it always does. It may not be how you pictured it, but not only does it all turn out, sometimes it’s leaps and bounds beyond what you first envisioned.

And then you turn over the reins, and let them go to work in front of an audience, where they shine. And while my job is done, I love watching them perform, and to see how an audience reacts to them.

That’s why I do it. And I’ll do it as long as the theatre will have me.