When You Die It's The End Of

I Believe In My Mask-- The Man I Made Up Is Me I Believe In My Dance-- And My Destiny

Ive Been So Spoiled In The Theater, Writing Plays Where I Can Just Do Exactly What I Want And Nobody Messes With Me.

In Many Of My Plays, There Was A Kind Of Autobiographical Character In The Form Of A Son Or Young Man. The Purpose Of It, Of Course, Was To Write About Myself. That Character Was Always The Least Fully Realized. Eighteen Years Later, You Realize, That's What He Was About.

My First Job Was With The Burns Detective Agency. They Sent Me Over To The East River To Guard Coal Barges During These God-awful Hours Like Three To Six In The Morning. It Wasn't A Very Difficult Job -- All I Had To Do Was Make A Round Every Fifteen Minutes -- But It Turned Out To Be A Great Environment For Writing. I Was Completely Alone In A Little Outhouse With An Electric Heater And A Little Desk.

My Dad's Side Of The Family ... They're A Real Bizarre Bunch, Going Back To The Original Colonies. That Side's Got A Real Tough Strain Of Alcoholism. It Goes Back Generations And Generations, So That You Can't Remember When There Was A Sober Grandfather.