David Rabe Quotes

I wrestled with my Catholicism for a long time. It took a long time to escape. It began with a sense that it was repressive, stern, judgmental. It was passionate, but it was terrifying. There were individual priests and nuns who were helpful, but the religion was cold.

- David Rabe

Choosing to write a play is some kind of surrender. I don't make an outline. I sit and work, and suddenly the door opens, and out it comes.

- David Rabe

There's no demand for a body of work, though writers will be criticized for not having produced one.

- David Rabe

Sometimes it's learning how the play wants to function rather than imposing something on it. For me, that's the thrill in directing.

- David Rabe

My writing was liberated once I abandoned acting.

- David Rabe

I never found a professional environment that made the production of plays efficient. Teamwork is demanded, but there are very few teams.

- David Rabe

Often my characters don't know what the issues of the play are. They think they're doing one thing, but something else is actually orchestrating their lives.

- David Rabe