Donald Margulies Quotes

• Playwriting is all about empathy, getting inside the head of someone who is not you, to think like they think without judging them.

  Donald Margulies

  Thinking, Judging, Empathy

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• People often tell me, "You write such great women." I don't think about it, I just write characters as rigorously and as truthfully as I can and hope, no matter their gender, that their humanity comes through.

  Donald Margulies

  Writing, Character, Thinking

  "Interview with Playwright, Donald Margulies". Interview with Ted Sod, www.broadwayworld.com. January 13, 2014.

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• Telling takes away the need to write. It relieves the pressure. And once that tension dissipates, so does the need to relieve it. First write it, then we’ll talk about it.

  Donald Margulies

  Writing, Doe, Needs

  Donald Margulies (2012). “Collected Stories”, p.16, Theatre Communications Group

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• Choosing a director is like choosing a therapist - you want somebody who is going to be a step or two ahead of you, who can interpret and articulate your intentions better than you can, with the benefit of objectivity. I look for a collaborator who is going to help bring to life, on stage, in three dimensions, what is on the page. I wouldn't want a director who imposes conceits or distrusts the text or who has prejudged the characters.

  Donald Margulies

  Character, Objectivity, Two

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• I love the students - they are remarkable, inspiring people. I would miss teaching if I stopped doing it. The kind of work I do is pretty diverse: I can cast a play while doing a polish of a screenplay, while thinking about a new play and revising another. In other words, the kind of work that I do during my work day is not just writing, yet it is all part of the job of being a playwright.

  Donald Margulies

  Jobs, Teaching, Writing

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• I like to flip through play scripts, not just my own; there is something exciting about seeing printed language on a page that triggers responses in me.

  Donald Margulies

  Play, Scripts, Flip

  "Interview with Playwright, Donald Margulies". Interview with Ted Sod, www.broadwayworld.com. January 13, 2014.

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• I've come to view screenwriting assignments as playwriting grants, because they provide a considerable financial cushion. However, they can also be extremely time-consuming. Film projects tend to drag on and on, which takes me away from the theatre, and then they don't get made. At the same time, the screenplays that have come my way have been quite challenging, for the most part, and even enjoyable.

  Donald Margulies

  Views, Challenges, Theatre

  4 Copy quote

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