"Play well or play badly, but play truly"

The above quote is attributed to Stanislavski by David Mamet in one of the essays in his book 'Writing in Restaurants'. Many of the essays in the book are thought provoking and worthwhile, but 'Stanislavski and the American Bicentennial' really struck a chord: it absolutely said in concrete terms what I have always felt about theater and why I write plays.

Theater isn't, to paraphrase Mamet, a place to go to forget anything, but a place to go to remember. To remember that we're gonna die and have problems and are not perfect. That is why I have always endeavored to write about big things even if the package is a comedy; to include something of the spiritual or universal, so people can leave having seen a little of themselves and recognized that, and have something to chew on when they go home.


I hope all this doesn't sound precious, but it's how I feel. I don't want to write plays that only entertain and have no solid foundation of something greater. Why bother?

When I read this essay I knew I had to post on my trusty old blog about it, because it was so right on. When you leave a great play, an Our Town, or Angels in America,or Waiting for Godot or Uncle Vanya, you leave exhilarated, not just because the acting or writing were wonderful, or that the play was full realized blahblahblah, but because it struck a chord deep inside you and told you something, no not told but shared something that you already know and you leave floating on a cloud of recognition that yes, life is not gonna last forever, but it is a beautiful thing.

There is another quote by Stanislavski that I have kept close to my heart (and I keep it taped to a bookshelf in my room, and is actually quoted by Mamet in an earlier essay) "the purpose of theater is to bring to the stage the life of the soul". Bingo. Otherwise, why bother?

Theater isn't like an animal in the zoo. The audience doesn't, or shouldn't, go to watch the cute little actors act . . . the audience is part of the whole thing and what's up on the stage is a mirror that the audience doesn't just look at but steps through and we all take the trip together.

I'll quote Mamet to close: "Theater is not an imitation of anything, it is real theater".

Pass it on.