I try to speak of life. It is humanity that interests me, the links between human beings. We bump into all these wonderful people. There are thousands points of contact, even if they are very short, casual… And suddenly, one particular things moves you, penetrates your body; you ignore where it ends up and you have no idea what it is capable of stimulating, of creating. However, you sense that it is important… In everyday life, there are so many things, so much information, which on the surface appear tiny and in reality are fundamental… It is above all the everyday experience that influences me.      - Pina Bausch 


In Milan during the workshop for Doctor Faustus at La Scala, Wilson and I dropped into the patio of Bragutta's restaurant for dinner. The hour was late, the sky clear, the breeze sensuous. Having finished their five-course meals, the elegant Milanese lingered over coffee and cognac, glowing with good food, good wine, and charm. The restaurant hummed with loud, happy voices. Wilson sat down, looked around, and grumbled, “Why do people talk so much? The human race is drowning in words. They should shut up and drink.” At this point the waiter set down on the table a dish with several thin, round slices of lemon. Wilson stared in silence for a ten minutes, the exclaimed, “How beautiful these lemons are!” “The color, Bob?” I asked. “No,” he replied, “the structure, the pattern of the seeds.”

- Arthur Holmberg, The Theatre of Robert Wilson