That’s the wonderful thing about the theater. Unlike in the movies where once a movie is finished and released you can’t change it, in the theater a show is a living thing. When you realize something is wrong you can actually fix it and mount a new production.

…I believe that the more specific you write, the more universal it becomes. I see plays that aren’t Latino all the time. Why shouldn’t my work speak to a broad audience? What if theatre becomes a little more balanced? I believe that as the Latino middle class grows, they’ll buy tickets if there’s theatre for them.

As a people, we Americans love the theatrical art and in order that the theater may be a significant factor in our national life, we have had it said we should produce plays representative of American life. This is obviously true, but is it not true also that a generous sprinkling of Shakespeare would be a fine racial tonic for us?

On a political level, I just found that I was more excited by what my skill-set could bring to film and television. Asian [American] theater has stretched the boundaries a little bit, but at the time, [it] was much more involved in what I thought was an older form of expression. It was much more about identity plays, explaining who we were as Asian Americans through dramas. And that didn't interest me as much. I was interested in people who weren't going to theater, and reaching them. That always excited me more, and to this day, theater, though on a formal level is the ideal place for an actor, on some political level, I find it frustrating that theatergoers are mostly rich -- maybe that's unfair -- mostly white…

These type of stories still go on. This is something that has to be said. It’s been done in many ways, but I think that theater being done live has a different impact. And when we come out of the show we stop and think–”What can I do in my society to make it better?”

The performance obviously is the main reason you’re going to the theater, but what’s unique about this medium and hopefully the audience we’re attracting is the diversity. I have a diverse group of characters on that stage. If they’re just performing for one kind of people it’s not the same experience for the audience themselves, so I really want to think of it as, yes you’re going to a one-person show, but you’re also a participant in a hundred person show.

I will like to see more platforms and channels available to showcase and present the work thespians put in. I will like to see the necessary infrastructure in place to ensure the industry thrives. I will like to know we are operating in an enabling and not stifling environment.

If you really want to help the American theater, don't be an actress, dahling. Be an audience.

Great drama is great questions or it is nothing but technique. I could not imagine a theater worth my time that did not want to change the world.

…universities are worried about diversifying and are wondering how. Playwrights want students exposed to their work and wondering how. The educator in me fights with the playwright in me. Should universities who do not have students of color still be able to do my plays? The educator says yes and the playwright says no. If universities produce ethnically specific plays with any of the available swap-out options, what are we teaching the next generation of theatre artists? Experience has taught me that artists will duplicate whatever they have learned in school…

…White people playing people of color is not new; what is new is people of color are now [able to] own their own authenticity. White theater was created to reflect their audiences and white theater must deal with [changing audiences and perceptions]. … I think it’s about what the story requires, and what happens when you cast someone who could not be believable and who could not tell that story…

I would really like to do more dramatic work on the stage. It's difficult as a character actress because they casting directors and producers don't think of you as an actress, they think of you as a comedian.

We feel that in the future, groups are going to have to offer much more than just a pop show. They'll have to offer a well-presented theatre show.

Coming to the theater humanizes people…Culture informs perspective, and the world is a complicated place. Telling the story on stage increases understanding…