"The Director's Role: You are the obstetrician. You are not the parent of this child we call the play. You are present at its birth for clinical reasons, like a doctor or midwife. Your job most of the time is simply to do no harm. When something does go wrong, however, your awareness that something is awry--and your clinical intervention to correct it--can determine whether the child will thrive or suffer, live or die.” ― Frank Hauser (1922-2007), British director, writer, and translator. From Notes on Directing: 130 Lessons in Leadership from the Director's Chair, co-authored with Russel Reich.
"Your job most of the time is simply to do no harm." I wish more directors—especially opera directors and directors of Shakespeare—would take this approach. We'd get much better productions.
