Yeah, I Have The Detail-obsessed, Controlling Personality

If I Think Back To Every Rehearsal Process For Every Play I've Ever Worked On, There's Just So Much Crying At Home. I Barely Sleep. There Are Moments Of Deep Despair And Anxiety, And Then There Are Moments In Rehearsal That Are The Most Exhilarating; Feeling Seen And Seeing Everybody. Feeling Like You Have A Purpose On The Planet. A Huge Part Of The Process I Enjoy Is Watching The Actors Figuring Out What They Can Handle And What They Can Take And What They Need From The Director And Me.

For Me, Being A Good Creative Writing Teacher Is Actually Kind Of Being A Good Therapist. The Line Is Very Porous - You Can Also Be A Creepy Guru/abusive Therapist, Too, So You Have To Be Very Careful. But It Feels Really Important To Me.

For Me, On Every Project, I Realize That I've Boxed Myself Into A Corner, Or That The Play Necessitates Some Sort Of Theatrical Convention That I Realize I Hate While I'm Making It. So Then The Next Play Is Always A Rebellion. Or Like, The Thing I Didn't Even Realize I Was Doing Last Time I Will Make Sure I Don't Do This Time. But There's Always Some Other Blind Spot. And Then That Blind Spot Inspires The Play That Comes After.

I Was 22 And Stopped Writing Plays, And I Didn't Start Again Until I Was 25. I Was Writing Badly. In College, I Attempted To Write These More Conventional Plays, But The Theater I Loved Was Downtown Experimental Theater. I Didn't Feel Like I Could Do That Either. It Didn't Occur To Me To Do My Own Thing.

For Early Plays Of Mine, I Started With Character. But I Think That's Because I Hadn't Been In Theaters; I Hadn't Worked That Much. I'm Very Interested In Character, Obviously, But Once I Started Having My Plays Produced, I Became So Fascinated By The Theatrical Experiment And The Weirdness Of Theatrical Space, So Now All My Plays Start With Space And Stage Picture And Setting - Or Container Is Maybe The Better Way To Put It.