I'm not posh at all. I grew up in Sheffield but never managed to pick up the accent - which was careless because there'd be some cache now in being a northern playwright, but I missed out on that one.
Almost every college playwright or sketch or improv comedian was sort of aware of Christopher Durang - even kids in high school. His short plays were so accessible to younger people and I think that was inspirational to me.
If it's stage, the two most important artists are the actor and the playwright. If it's film, THE most important person is the director. The director says where the camera goes.
For millions of women and men around the world, the playwright Eve Ensler is a beloved figure. She represents the epitome of the politically engaged artist, someone who uses her creative brilliance to illuminate injustice and give voice to the voiceless.
You know, Hollywood sometimes tends to patronize the interior of the United States. As Horton Foote used to say, the great Texas playwright, that a lot of people from New York don't know what goes on beyond the South Jersey Shore.
Because theatre is a story-telling art form, we feel entitled to assume that the playwright got there before we got there.
One of the things you hope you've done as a playwright is create roles that can sustain different interpretations.
I'm lucky enough to say my day job is acting. I cut my teeth as a theater actor and playwright in New York.
A conventional playwright tries to tell you more about the characters than they know about themselves.
Everybody gets a little dose of Shakespeare. He's the greatest playwright in the English language, but his politics are fairly square.