I don't think I've ever written anything even remotely naturalistic. The closest probably would be seen as 'Frankie and Johnny,' and that's only 'cause they eat a sandwich and make an omelet in act two. But it's a romantic fairy tale, and I'm very aware of that. I don't think it helps the actors in my plays to lose themselves in the reality of talking to another person. A good McNally actor always knows he's in a play with an audience.

I'm of the school 'Write what you know.' You can educate yourself, but the best writing usually comes from the heart.

I like to surprise myself. I've always been attracted to projects where I don't know how they're going to turn out.

I may think I have inalienable rights to be alive and happy but I don't - life is a blessing.

Young people have got to start their own theaters, really. All good theater is a kind of mom-and-pop operation. Start your own theater.

There are so many rules about play writing. I'd have a nervous breakdown if I followed them.

Write plays that matter. Raise the stakes. Shout, yell, holler, but make yourself heard. It's time for playwrights to reclaim the theatre. We do that by speaking from the heart about the things that matter most to us. If a play isn't worth dying for, maybe it isn't worth writing.