How long have you been the director of the Shoestring Theater and how was it you came to the work?

I came to Shoestring Theater in 1978 or 9. I had been working for a couple of years at The Profile Theater Company which was the parent company of present-day Portland Stage. I had gotten a work study job there back in the days when the government helped young people without money learn a trade and I wanted to work in the theater. And while I adored working there I was acutely aware that that kind of theater only reached those people comfortable in that setting and those who could  pay that admission price. It was a class thing and I was more interested in the streets and the people there. Someone told me to stop into the People's Building and check out the puppet theater company and I did. Love at first sight. Beside a few years off  to work in Germany and Portugal Shoestring Theater has been my home. I've been full time there since 1982.