In the question and answer session after the production of CIVIL warS Wilson stated, “The audience has the same role as the author, the director or the actor. All of us are engaged in the process of asking ‘what is it.’ We don’t try to say what it is or what it means.” In the days since reading this Wilson quote, I have had a very difficult time wrapping my head around this idea.  In my opinion, the audience is the only member responsible for asking, ‘what is it.’ For the most part, the performance is the audience’s first experience with the production. Without prior knowledge of the material, it is possible to ask this question. The director and the writer, however, should not need to ask this question. The role of the director is to interpret the text and set  it for the stage. Although the director might be unsure of the exact meaning of the text, he or she will realize the piece as they see fit. They will in some way visualize the text. Within the realm of vision, there is a level of specificity and meaning.  If the director needs to ask what is it, then there can be no direction. Direction has purpose.  As for the writer, the process of writing is supplemented by ideas. A person can have an idea and write or they can begin to write and have ideas come to them. A text might not be cohesive or make sense, but the ideas of the author are present. Behind those ideas, there is meaning. There is a point.  In combination with the ideas of the author and that of the director, the play should have a general purpose that the writer and director are aware of.  Arguably, a writer could finish a piece and question what it is. I wrote this, but I have no idea what this means. A director’s  role, however, is to give meaning to the work. The director is the link between the audience and the author. If a director can truly ask this question, then I believe they did not do their job.