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Quote by 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.”

Quote by Annie Baker

Author

Annie Baker is an American playwright known for her concise and profound scripts. Her works often explore the complexities of human relationships and inner worlds, praised for their unique narrative style and dialogue techniques. more

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“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.”

Ifs Thinking Needs Play Moments Feelings Home Purpose Actors Process Enjoy Sleep Seeing Cry Planets Huge Like You Directors Despair Anxiety Handle Rehearsal Exhilarating Exhilarating 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.”

Ifs Knows Feels Writing Years Heart I Can Book Ends Enough Play Reading Process Pleasure Know How Alive Ten Research Bases Work Out Driven Spontaneous Groove Mazes Be Spontaneous

Author:Annie Baker

“I feel like my life is at its happiest when I don't have a looming deadline. There's some really groovy wonderful times, when I'm like, "I have a new piece, I'm excited about it, I'm reading all these books about it, but there's not a lot of time pressure, and I'm financially stable enough right now that I don't have to be trying to get another job." But that's so rare.”

Feels Trying Book Enough Jobs Life Is Reading Pieces Wonderful Right Now Pressure Excited Stable Deadline Looming Wonderful Times Groovy

Author:Annie Baker

“I never had a lot of ideas. I always have exactly one that is the next project; the idea of a project beyond that project is ludicrous.”

Ideas Next Projects

Author:Annie Baker

“For me, being a good creative writing teacher is actually kind of being a good therapist. The line is very porous - you can also be a creepy guru/abusive therapist, too, so you have to be very careful. But it feels really important to me.”

Feels Writing Kind Important Lines Creative Teacher Careful Creative Writing Guru Creepy Therapists Abusive

Author:Annie Baker

“Being sad and going out on terrible dates and having horrible breakups and then having a shitty job and then quitting the shitty job and then wondering if you shouldn't have quit the shitty job and then getting a new shitty job that you get fired off of after six weeks, it's all so good for your writing.”

Ifs Writing Jobs Wonder Week Terrible Six Quitting Horrible Breakup Going Out Being Sad

Author:Annie Baker

“I'm interested in the feeling of getting to zero after a play, like you're never going to do it again. That's a really scary feeling.”

Play Feelings Like You Scary Zero Really Scary

Author:Greta Gerwig

“It's much easier to conjure characters strictly from your imagination than to have to think about whether you're representing people in a truthful way.”

People Thinking Way Character Imagination Easier Truthful Representing

Author:Lynn Nottage

“When you begin a play, you're going to have to spend a lot of time with those characters, so those characters are going to have to be rich enough that you want to take a very long journey with them. That's how I begin thinking about what I want to write about and who I want to write about.”

Thinking Want Writing Long Enough Play Character Rich Journey Long Journey

Author:Lynn Nottage

“When the play is still evolving I try to be at rehearsal as often as possible, and part of that casting process. You find new things when the language is living in different people's mouths.”

People Trying Stills Different Play Language Process Mouths Evolve New Things Casting Different Peoples Rehearsal

Author:Lynn Nottage