“There are certain early plays of mine that I really don't like, but I can't imagine going back and fixing them. I would be totally incapable of it. I'm not in the head of the characters anymore.” I CanPlayCharacterWould BeCertainImagineMinesIncapableFixing Author:Annie Baker
“For early plays of mine, I started with character. But I think that's because I hadn't been in theaters; I hadn't worked that much. I'm very interested in character, obviously, but once I started having my plays produced, I became so fascinated by the theatrical experiment and the weirdness of theatrical space, so now all my plays start with space and stage picture and setting - or container is maybe the better way to put it.” ThinkingWayPlayCharacterSpaceStageMinesTheaterExperimentsSettingSettingsFascinatedBetter WaysTheatricalWeirdnessContainers Author:Annie Baker
“For me, on every project, I realize that I've boxed myself into a corner, or that the play necessitates some sort of theatrical convention that I realize I hate while I'm making it. So then the next play is always a rebellion. Or like, the thing I didn't even realize I was doing last time I will make sure I don't do this time. But there's always some other blind spot. And then that blind spot inspires the play that comes after.” PlayLastsHateNextRealizingInspireProjectsI HateBlindCornersSpotsRebellionConventionsLast TimeTheatricalBlind SpotsNext Play Author:Annie Baker
“If I were less lazy, when my play was published, I would go and rewrite everything for the reader. But I don't do that. What people are reading is just me trying to get the actors and directors to do something or think about something.” PeopleIfsThinkingTryingPlayReadingActorsReaderDirectorsLazy Author:Annie Baker
“If I think back to every rehearsal process for every play I've ever worked on, there's just so much crying at home. I barely sleep. There are moments of deep despair and anxiety, and then there are moments in rehearsal that are the most exhilarating; feeling seen and seeing everybody. Feeling like you have a purpose on the planet. A huge part of the process I enjoy is watching the actors figuring out what they can handle and what they can take and what they need from the director and me.” IfsThinkingNeedsPlayMomentsFeelingsHomePurposeActorsProcessEnjoySleepSeeingCryPlanetsHugeLike YouDirectorsDespairAnxietyHandleRehearsalExhilaratingExhilarating Feeling Author:Annie Baker
“I feel with writing, so much of the time, I don't know how to tap in and be spontaneous and alive on a daily basis. So I don't write every day. I'm just not disciplined, and I can't be in the groove most of the time. I feel like I'm in the groove ten days a year or something. But with reading and research, I feel like I have this incredibly instinctive pleasure-driven process that ends up working out for me and inspiring me. It's almost like a maze, like I know eventually I'll hit the heart of my play if I read enough books.” IfsKnowsFeelsWritingYearsHeartI CanBookEndsEnoughPlayReadingProcessPleasureKnow HowAliveTenResearchBasesWork OutDrivenSpontaneousGrooveMazesBe Spontaneous Author:Annie Baker
“Yeah, I have the detail-obsessed, controlling personality of a novelist, but I somehow ended up writing plays.” WritingPlayPersonalityYeahDetailsNovelistsObsessed Author:Annie Baker
“I was 22 and stopped writing plays, and I didn't start again until I was 25. I was writing badly. In college, I attempted to write these more conventional plays, but the theater I loved was downtown experimental theater. I didn't feel like I could do that either. It didn't occur to me to do my own thing.” FeelsWritingPlayMy OwnCollegeTheaterConventionalDowntown Author:Annie Baker
“I'm very interested in silence. And, more importantly, in what happens when people aren't talking on stage. I'm interested in letting actors play and do things between the lines. And in slowing everything down.” PeoplePlayHappensActorsLinesSilenceTalkingStageSlowingBetween The Lines Author:Annie Baker
