But for all the adrenaline of an actual performance, the process of piecing together a coherent season is a slow and painstaking one. But it helps that we're in the center of the country. St. Louis is easy to get in and out of, and we're on the way to just about everywhere. Though exceedingly well versed in contemporary theater, Warshawski said that she is always looking for new artists and new ideas. I want to know who people are talking about, who they've seen recently, what's exciting to them.
People are very willing to share their thoughts, experiences and contacts.
It's not unheard of for me to camp outside an agent's door, yelling and screaming until I get my way. The trick is in pulling them off. It also requires a talent for imaginative diplomacy. Warshawski remembers one temperamental artist whose dark moods, she discovered, could be assuaged with the timely application of a Cuban cigar. Schvey recalls an actress who insisted that candy bars be hidden throughout her hotel room.