As part of Meredith’s celebration of the 10th anniversary of Meredith College’s Center for Women in the Arts, the College welcomed Anne Bogart, co-founder and artistic director of the Saratoga International Theatre Institute (SITI), for a public lecture on February 1.

Bogart is the author of “A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theater” and the co-author with Tina Landau of “The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition.” Meredith College uses both of her books in its theatre courses. Bogart also conducted workshops with theatre and dance students while at Meredith.

“It is very difficult to introduce your idol, but that is what I’m about to do,” Meredith Professor of Theatre Catherine Rodgers said of Bogart at the public lecture.

An associate professor at Columbia University where she runs the Graduate Directing Program, Bogart is a recipient of two Obie Awards, a Bessie Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She founded SITI with Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992.

In a conversational tone, Bogart shared her thoughts on the usefulness of theatre, in answer to her own question.

“Theatre is a magnificent waste of time, a glorious waste of time, but is it useful?,” Bogart asked.

Continuing a line of thinking that she said began after September 11, 2001, Bogart proposed six ways that theatre can be useful, including the ability to “construct a model human being” and “to allow the dead to speak.”

Her final idea about the usefulness of theatre is in its potential to cross boundaries.

“We can cross boundaries—this is what the theatre can do, and what we need to do now,” Bogart said. “This is where theatre is at its most brilliant.”

The Center for Women in the Arts is a consortium of the dance, music, theatre and visual arts programs on the campus. The Center fosters powerful learning and cultural opportunities for Meredith College and the surrounding community.