The virtue of dress rehearsals is that they are a free show for a select group of artists and friends read more

The virtue of dress rehearsals is that they are a free show for a select group of artists and friends of the author, and where for one unique evening the audience is almost expurgated of idiots.

The center of the stage is where I am.

The center of the stage is where I am.

You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you read more

You can throw away the privilege of acting, but that would be such a shame. The tribe has elected you to tell its story. You are the shaman/healer, that's what the storyteller is, and I think it's important for actors to appreciate that. Too often actors think it's all about them, when in reality it's all about the audience being able to recognize themselves in you. The more you pull away from the public, the less power you have on screen.

My playground was the theatre. I'd sit and watch my mother pretend for a living. As a young girl, that's read more

My playground was the theatre. I'd sit and watch my mother pretend for a living. As a young girl, that's pretty seductive.

The primary function of a theater is not to please itself, or even to please its audience. It is to read more

The primary function of a theater is not to please itself, or even to please its audience. It is to serve talent.

Coughing in the theater is not a respiratory ailment. It is a criticism.

Coughing in the theater is not a respiratory ailment. It is a criticism.

We are in the black theater of nonexistence. In an eye blink the curtain is up, the stage ablaze, for read more

We are in the black theater of nonexistence. In an eye blink the curtain is up, the stage ablaze, for the vast drama of ourselves.

I submit all my plays to the National Theatre for rejection. To assure myself I am seeing clearly.

I submit all my plays to the National Theatre for rejection. To assure myself I am seeing clearly.

For my part, I confess I seldom listen to the players: one has so much to do, in looking about read more

For my part, I confess I seldom listen to the players: one has so much to do, in looking about and finding out one's acquaintance, that, really, one has no time to mind the stage. One merely comes to meet one's friends, and show that one's alive.