My greatest fear is that the audience will beat me to the punch line. David Mamet More Quotes by David Mamet More Quotes From David Mamet Every scene should be able to answer three questions: "Who wants what from whom? What happens if they don't get it? Why now?" David Mamet three answers want When the three branches of government have failed to represent the citizenry and the mass of the media has failed to represent the citizenry, then the citizenry better represent the citizenry. David Mamet branches media government Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition, all of that. Just make the audience want to know what happens next. David Mamet next narrative want You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?' David Mamet actors choices use One person may need (or want) more leisure, another more work; one more adventure, another more security, and so on. It is this diversity that makes a country, indeed a state, a city, a church, or a family, healthy. 'One-size-fits-all,' and that size determined by the State has a name, and that name is 'slavery.' David Mamet cities adventure country To find beauty in the sad, hope in the midst of loss, and dignity in failure is great poetic art. David Mamet dignity loss art The main question in drama, the way I was taught, is always, 'What does the protagonist want?' That's what drama is. It comes down to that. It's not about theme, it's not about ideas, it's not about setting, but what the protagonist wants. David Mamet doe drama ideas A good writer gets better only by learning to cut, to remove the ornamental, the descriptive, the narrative, and especially the deeply felt and meaningful. What remains? The story remains. David Mamet get-better cutting meaningful It is the writer’s job to make the play interesting. It is the actor’s job to make the performance truthful. David Mamet play jobs interesting When you come into the theatre, you have to be willing to say, 'We're all here to undergo a communion, to find out what the hell is going on in this world.' If you're not willing to say that, what you get is entertainment instead of art, and poor entertainment at that. David Mamet theatre world art Encounter: Doubt, Shame, Humiliation. It will finally be worth it. Acting is more about courage than anything else. David Mamet encounters acting doubt We all die in the end, but there's no reason to die in the middle. David Mamet middle ends reason Having spent too many years in show business, the one thing I see that succeeds is persistence. It's the person who just ain't gonna go home. I decided early on that I wasn't going to go home. This is what I'll be doing until they put me in jail or in a coffin. David Mamet persistence home years Being a writer in Hollywood is like going to Hitler's Eagle Nest with a great idea for a bar mitzvah. David Mamet hollywood eagles ideas Don't write stage directions. If it is not apparent what the character is trying to accomplish by saying the line, tell us how the character said it or whether or not she moved to the couch isn't going to aid the case. David Mamet theatre writing character There's no such thing as talent; you just have to work hard enough. David Mamet talent hard-work enough Opportunity may knock, but it seldom nags. David Mamet may opportunity I examined my Liberalism and found it like an addiction to roulette. Here, though the odds are plain, and the certainty of loss apparent to anyone with a knowledge of arithmetic, the addict, failing time and again, is convinced he yet is graced with the power to contravene natural laws. The roulette addict, when he invariably comes to grief, does not examine either the nature of roulette, or of his delusion, but retires to develop a new system, and to scheme for more funds. David Mamet odds grief loss People may or may not say what they mean... but they always say something designed to get what they want. David Mamet honesty truth mean The most charming of theories holds that someone other than Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare's plays -- that he was of too low a state, and of insufficient education. But where in the wide history of the world do we find art created by the excessively wealthy, powerful, or educated? David Mamet powerful play art
