Quotes for All
I write in order to understand the images. Being what my agent . . . somewhat ruefully calls a language playwright, is problematic because in production, you have to make the language lift off the page. But a good actor can turn it into human speech. I err sometimes toward having such a compound of … Read more
I believe in the time when we shall be able to create works of art in the Theatre without the use of the written play, without the use of actors. Edward Gordon Craig
When I’m writing a play I hear it like music. I use the same indications that a composer does for duration. There’s a difference, I tell my students, between a semi-colon and a period. A difference in duration. And we have all these wonderful things, we use commas and underlining and all the wonderful punctuation … Read more
Do you know what a playwright is? A playwright is someone who lets his guts hang out on the stage. Edward Albee
Anything you put in a play — any speech — has got to do one of two things: either define character or push the action of the play along. Edward Albee
I’ve come to view screenwriting assignments as playwriting grants, because they provide a considerable financial cushion. However, they can also be extremely time-consuming. Film projects tend to drag on and on, which takes me away from the theatre, and then they don’t get made. At the same time, the screenplays that have come my way … Read more
Playwriting is all about empathy, getting inside the head of someone who is not you, to think like they think without judging them. Donald Margulies
In playwriting, you’ve got to be able to write dialogue. And if you write enough of it and let it flow enough, you’ll probably come across something that will give you a key as to structure. I think the process of writing a play is working back and forth between the moment and the whole. … Read more
I’ve taught both screenwriting and playwriting, and playwriting is both much harder and much more rewarding. One can teach people how to tell a story in cinematic ways, but theater is a much more elusive craft. David Ives
What was once a cottage industry dedicated to the discovery and development of new voices and works has become instead the raison d’etre for many a playwright’s existence . . .. And since readings have become playwrights’ main source of exposure, the nature of playwriting has changed to fit readings’ needs. Investigation into what is … Read more