I'm of the school 'Write what you know.' You can educate yourself, but the best writing usually comes from the heart.
Terrence McNallyWrite 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.
Terrence McNallyI 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.
Terrence McNallyI like to surprise myself. I've always been attracted to projects where I don't know how they're going to turn out.
Terrence McNally