"We saw the arts kind of deflowered in a way during the 80s," he said.
Richardson attributed the decline in theater to massive cuts in government funding.
All the panelists related stories of their experiences with critics and the media--which both play a major role in the vitality of the theater community, according to the directors.
Eric C. Engel, director of Harvard's Memorial Hall, praised the Boston Globe and its head critic Ed Siegel for devoting space to reviews of small, professional theaters.
"It has made an amazing, amazing difference in audiences and morale," Engel said.
To form their own theater companies, Richardson said students should get "a lot of people together in a vision."
But funding and space are two of the greatest obstacles faced by new dramatic companies, according to the directors.
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