Michael Sokolove: "Volpe always tells the kids..."

"Volpe always tells the kids 'it's theater,' meaning something will always happen you don't expect. Lines missed, props missing, a costume change not made. It's part of being an actor. You don't panic; you just find your way back."

-Michael Sokolove, Drama High

Lou Volpe: "I think some of these..."

"I think some of these other schools, they're wealthier, and the families have more sophistication, but they really value their comfort. They're almost too comfortable. They want that feeling of security and don't want anything to rock the boat. A show like Rent raises questions about the world we live in, and they're not interested in that."

-Lou Volpe, from Michael Sokolove's Drama High

Michael Sokolove: "No one would tolerate..."

"No one would tolerate a science curriculum that glossed over the discovery of DNA, or even a high school football team that ran the old sing-wing offense and never threw a forward pass. But high school theater programs that draw material mostly from bygone eras are regarded as somehow quaint."

-Michael Sokolove, Drama High

Lou Volpe: "I'm not here to..."

"I'm not here to make you a great actor. That's not my job. The reasons you should be taking this class are far more important than learning to act. I want you to gain confidence, learn something about life, grow up a little bit. I want to help you see who you are."

-Lou Volpe, from Michael Sokolove's Drama High

Michael Sokolove: "Theater is a collaborative..."

"Theater is a collaborative exploration of the drama of the human condition, and those who are outsiders are often the best people to reflect on that."

-Michael Sokolove, Drama High

Lou Volpe: "I had to learn balance..."

"I had to learn balance, harmony, order, design, composition. I had to learn that all good theater is a process and you must go through it totally or an element will be missed somewhere, and the end result will be nothing more than mediocre."

-Lou Volpe, from Michael Sokolove's Drama High

Lou Volpe: "If all we had..."

“If all we had was a bare stage with one light bulb, we could still do theater.”

—Lou Volpe

Jane Fonda: "Wanted to make movies..."

“We wanted make movies that could appeal to an average audience — average Americans — and take them on a trip that they normally wouldn’t go on in terms of their consciousness. So you have to have characters that they can begin to identify with at the beginning... There was a message being delivered, but it was encased in a story that even if you didn’t buy the message, would hold you.

If you feel strongly about something, there’s nothing that can make you feel better than being able to embed your passionate feelings into a delivery system that is totally accessible by people who don’t agree with you.”

—Jane Fonda, in the bonus features of The China Syndrome

John Lennon: "Time you enjoy wasting..."

"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted."

—John Lennon

Unknown: "Even in the dark..."

"Even in the dark corners of grief and memory, a small light still shines; for without the dark, there would be nothing to illuminate."

—Unknown

Unknown: "If war is the..."

"If war is the answer, we are asking the wrong question."

—Unknown

Doe Zantamata: "Taking time to do..."

"Taking time to do nothing often brings everything into perspective."

—Doe Zantamata

Unknown: "Great leaders don't tell..."

"Great leaders don't tell you what to do. They show you how it's done."

—Unknown

Bruce Lee: "A teacher is never..."

"A teacher is never a giver of truth. He is a guide, a pointer to the truth that each student must find for himself. A good teacher is merely a catalyst.” 

—Bruce Lee

Unknown: "There will always be..."

"There will always be a reason why you meet people. Either you need them to change your life or you're the one that will change theirs."

—Unknown

Joseph Campbell: "The cave you fear..."

"The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek."

—Joseph Campbell

Carl Jung: "I am not what..."

"I am not what happened to me. I am what I chose to become."

—Carl Jung

Nelson Mandela: "I learned that courage..."

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

—Nelson Mandela

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "We mus see that...'

"We must see that peace represents a sweeter music, a cosmic melody, that is far superior to the discords of war."

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rumi: "You are not a..."

"You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop."

—Rumi

Osho: "The greatest fear in..."

The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others, and the moment you are unafraid of the crowd, you are no longer a sheep. You become a lion. A great roar arises in  your heart. The roar of freedom."

—Osho

Khalil Gibran: "Your pain is the..."

"Your pain is the breaking of the shell which encloses your understanding."

—Khalil Gibran, "The Prophet"

Ed Solomon: "A person is smart..."

"A person is smart. People are dumb. Everything they've ever "known" has been proven to be wrong. A thousand years ago everybody knew as a fact, that the earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, they knew it was flat. Fifteen minutes ago, you knew we humans were alone on it. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

—Ed Solomon, Kay in "Men in Black"

Unknown: "An arrow can only..."

"An arrow can only be shot by pulling it backward. So when life is dragging you back with difficulties. It means that its going to launch you into something great. So just focus and keep aiming."

—Unknown

Epicurus: "Do not spoil what..."

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."

—Epicurus

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "We must accept finite..."

"We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope."

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Jason Jordan: "True love does not..."

"True love does not come by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly."

—Jason Jordan

Zig Ziglar: "You don't have to be great..."

"You don't have to be great to start, but you do have to start to be great."

–Zig Ziglar

Andy Goldsworthy: "The difference between..."

"The difference between a theatre with and without an audience is enormous. There is a palpable, critical energy created by the presence of the audience."

–Andy Goldsworthy

Helen Hayes: "I am confused..."

"I am confused by life, and I feel safe within the confines of the theatre."

–Helen Hayes

Alexander Pope: "Act well your part..."

"Act well your part; there all the honour lies."

–Alexander Pope, Pope: An Essay on Man

Constantin Stanislavski: "Love art in yourself..."

"Love art in yourself, not yourself in art."

–Constantin Stanislavski, My Life in Art
 

William Blake: "The greater the sorrow..."

"The deeper the sorrow, the greater the joy"

—William Blake

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: "Hatred paralyzes life; love..."

"Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it."

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Oscar Wilde: "Every saint has a..."

"Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."

—Oscar Wilde

Unknown: "I am thankful for..."

"I am thankful for the difficult people in my life. They have shown me exactly who I don't want to be."

—Unknown

Albert Einstein: "Everybody is a genius..."

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole like believing that it is stupid."

—Albert Einstein

Thomas Merton: "The beginning of love..."

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves,
and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only
the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

–Thomas Merton, No Man Is An Island

Wes Moore: "None of us..."

"None of us are ever promised anything. Make sure it matters that you are here."

-Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore

Wes Moore: "The world is..."

"The world is much bigger than what is right in front of you."

-Wes Moore, author of The Other Wes Moore

L. Frank Baum: "You've always had..."

"You've always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself."

—Glinda, The Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

Graham Hancock: "Fear is the lock..."

"Think for your yourself. Take nothing for granted. Question everything. Reach your own conclusions based on your own experience, intuition and common sense. These are amongst the gifts the bountiful universe bestowed when we were given the opportunity to be born in a human body. We should use those gifts well, and make the most of this precious opportunity, for that is what we are here to do.

Fear is the lock, consciousness is the key, and love is on the other side of the door."

—Graham Hancock

Unknown: "People hate you for..."

"People hate you for 1 of 3 reasons.

1. They hate themselves
2. They want to be you
3. They see you as a threat"

—Unknown

Wayne W. Dyer: "My goal is not..."

"My goal is not to be better than anyone else, but to be better than I used to be."

—Wayne W. Dyer

Albert Einstein: "The world will not..."

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything."

—Albert Einstein

Unknown: "If you are not..."

"If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you."

—Unknown

David Icke: "The greatest prison people..."

"The greatest prison people live in is the fear of what other people think."

—David Icke

Ronald Reagan: "We can't help everyone..."

"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."

—Ronald Reagan

C.S. Lewis: "There are far, far..."

"There are far, far better things ahead than any we left behind."

—C.S. Lewis

Gerry Spence: "I would rather have..."

"I would rather have a mind opened by wonder, than one closed by belief."

—Gerry Spence

Gandhi: "The future depends on..."

"The future depends on what we do in the present."

—Mahatma Gandhi

Paulo Coelho: "Life has many ways..."

"Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by everything happen all at once."

—Paulo Coelho

Rumi: "Raise your words, not..."

"Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder."

—Rumi