Working with The Young Company is a privilege that has taught all of us many things. For me personally, one lesson I have learned is that when working with other people - always expect the unexpected: the only thing we can ever be sure about is that someone we know, at some point in time, (probably when we least expect it) will totally astonish us.

To be sure, the entire birth and development of The Young Company has been exactly like that. Inevitably, every time I become convinced that this "was it," that this time we had encountered the ultimate obstacle, some individual did something absolutely wonderful, and the entire effort somehow resumed in an extraordinary manner.

Often the individual was a member of our ensemble; sometimes she was a mentor, a teacher, a parent or a friend. But always, always, an individual - not an institution or a system or organization. Extraordinary things happened because of surprising and extraordinary people. As if, by magic, these individuals managed to spark the entire community.

In directing The Young Company for the past four years, I have been privileged to work and be associated with Dr. Stuart Omans - one of the most extraordinary individuals I have ever met. Even after four years, Stuart surprises me all the time. Of course, Stuart's love and concern for the young people of our community is not a surprise; indeed The Young Company was his very own conception. But for me, it has been one of those fortunate "extraordinary" occurrences that this year Stuart has chosen to devote a major chunk of his time and energy to work directly and steadily with The Young Company. For this, for creating the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival, for dreaming up The Young Company and for all the other innumerable wonders and surprises that he has brought to this town, all of us in The Young Company thank Stuart from the bottom of our hearts.

Judith Rubinger

Director, The Young Company