Ellen Stewart (La Mama ETC), a remarkable human being, whose creative vision encompassed continents, has passed away. She was highly supportive of my efforts in the theater, as she was for everyone else with dreams and ambitions. Back in the early 70's she hooked me up with Asif Curimbuoy, a playwright from India, and asked me to stage his play "The Dumb Dancer". We were able to enlist the only Kathakali dancer in NYC at the time, and mix him with American performers. It was a challenge and Ellen was strongly supportive of our efforts for a cross-cultural production.  I also had the opportunity to be with Ellen again when I was teaching theater at the AmericanUniversity in Bulgaria. We met once more in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, where she was working with performers at a theater. I walked into a rehearsal in the dark auditorium, she spotted me , and called out my name. I was stunned. Her memory of people was encyclopedic. But it was her honest joy in seeing me that knocked me over. She was a rare, exceptional, and giving human being with an immense heart and political savvy. A rare combination. I will miss her as so many other grateful people will as well.