There Are So Many Rules About Play

I Don't Think I've Ever Written Anything Even Remotely Naturalistic. The Closest Probably Would Be Seen As 'frankie And Johnny,' And That's Only 'cause They Eat A Sandwich And Make An Omelet In Act Two. But It's A Romantic Fairy Tale, And I'm Very Aware Of That. I Don't Think It Helps The Actors In My Plays To Lose Themselves In The Reality Of Talking To Another Person. A Good Mcnally Actor Always Knows He's In A Play With An Audience.

Young People Have Got To Start Their Own Theaters, Really. All Good Theater Is A Kind Of Mom-and-pop Operation. Start Your Own Theater.

Write Plays That Matter. Raise The Stakes. Shout, Yell, Holler, But Make Yourself Heard. It's Time For Playwrights To Reclaim The Theatre. We Do That By Speaking From The Heart About The Things That Matter Most To Us. If A Play Isn't Worth Dying For, Maybe It Isn't Worth Writing.

Technology Promises To Let Us Do Anything From Anywhere With Anyone. But It Also Drains Us As We Try To Do Everything Everywhere. In A Surprising Twist, Relentless Connection Leads To A New Solitude.

Work With Good Directors. Without Them Your Play Is Doomed. At The Time Of My First Play, I Thought A Good Director Was Someone Who Liked My Play. I Was Rudely Awakened From That Fantasy When He Directed It As If He Loathed It. . . . Work With Good Actors. A Good Actor Hears The Way You (and No One Else) Write. A Good Actor Makes Rewrites Easy. A Good Actor Tells You Things About Your Play You Didn't Know.