Theresa Rebeck Quotes

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Theresa Rebeck

Profession : Playwright

Birth : February 19, 1958

Is the American theatre allowing itself to become irrelevant? The problem isn't that playwrights aren't being paid enough. It's that theatres all over America are looking towards New York to tell them what new plays to do.

Theresa Rebeck

We need theatre that is contemporary, lively and relevant, and the only way to do that is to take care of our playwrights and produce their plays.

Theresa Rebeck

I have two sensational kids who I have raised with my husband, hoping and working every day to help them become healthy, happy, and decent human beings.

Theresa Rebeck

I have a dog whose name is Banquo.

Theresa Rebeck

Nothing sounds as crazy as telling people you're not crazy.

Theresa Rebeck

Why is it so hard for men to identify with women as fellow travelers on this good Earth?

Theresa Rebeck

I have spent my whole life working in the theater, and most of the people I know have done the same. And we are pretty interesting people.

Theresa Rebeck

The myth that theater isn't for everybody is total nonsense. In the 18th and 19th centuries, everybody in America used to go to the theater all the time. The shows they went to see were big, crazy melodramas that had careening storylines and houses burning down and pretty girls in danger and comedy and death and destruction.

Theresa Rebeck

Theater can be elusive and poetic, but it doesn't thrive when it doesn't reach an audience.

Theresa Rebeck

Theater is a public space. It is a spectacular space. It is a gathering place.

Theresa Rebeck

You have to respect who the character is. It has its own internal truth, and you can't betray that. And if you don't betray that, it will not betray you.

Theresa Rebeck

I think it goes without saying that young would-be playwrights in developmental workshops should be so lucky as to write plays as good as 'Waiting for Godot,' 'Uncle Vanya' or 'King Lear,' none of which would have existed without a decent plot.

Theresa Rebeck

Obviously, a theatrical masterpiece needs more than a plot; many television shows are nothing but plot, and it is doubtful that they will stand the test of time. But I also don't think that making fun of plot or acting like we're all somehow 'above' structure is such a good idea.

Theresa Rebeck

I seem to be constantly confronted by theater professionals who are more or less annoyed by the prospect of structure.

Theresa Rebeck

That stupid postmodern emphasis on image over content has slammed us right into a dramaturgy that willfully leaves the audience behind and then resents the fact that they don't 'get it.'

Theresa Rebeck

Sometimes I feel that my job on earth is to put Julie White through horrible things, watch her writhe and then recover.

Theresa Rebeck

Part of the problem with producing contemporary political theater in America today is that many theaters don't have flexibility or resources, be it hiring a lot of actors or staging a work that might be tough for some audience and board members.

Theresa Rebeck

Some of my family goes back a long way in Denver.

Theresa Rebeck

Denver's commitment to giving contemporary storytellers the stage is crucial to the American theater. That's something embraced by 'Smash.' We should be telling our own stories.

Theresa Rebeck