David Mamet Quotes about Theatre

When you come into the theatre, you have to be willing to say, 'We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world.' If you're not willing to say that, what you get is

When you come into the theatre, you have to be willing to say, 'We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world.' If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that.

David Mamet

Art, Theatre, World

David Mamet (2013). “Three Uses of the Knife: On the Nature and Purpose of Drama”, p.27, Vintage

Don't write stage directions. If it is not apparent what the character is trying to accomplish by saying the line, tell us how the character said it or whether or not she moved to the couch isn't going to aid the case.

David Mamet

Writing, Character, Theatre

David Mamet (1986). “Writing in restaurants”, Viking Adult

A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators may divert or anger, but it cannot enlighten.

David Mamet

Theatre, May, Enlightening

David Mamet (1986). “Writing in restaurants”, Viking Adult

The audience will teach you how to act and the audience will teach you how to write and to direct. The classroom will teach you how to obey, and obedience in the theatre will get you nowhere. It’s a soothing falsity.

David Mamet

Writing, Theatre, Classroom

David Mamet (2011). “True and False: Heresy and Common Sense for the Actor”, p.19, Vintage

They have a desire to put on plays and to fulfill that traditional role of a theater in a community: to be the place where people go to hear the truth.

David Mamet

People, Theatre

"Postgraduate Pioneers of the Mamet Method" by Stacey Okun, www.nytimes.com. August 02, 1987.

David Mamet Quotes about Theatre

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