David Mamet

(David Mamet)
Mamet’s interviewer did not wait to jump into the meat of Mamet’s inspiration. Immediately upon being seated in his large armchair he asked Mamet, “So what made you become a story teller? Was there some book or relative in your life that really inspired you?” Without hesitation, Mamet proclaimed, “I’m a Jew. Jews have been telling stories for thousands of years. That’s what we do. The first really good story we told we called the Torah.” Though he never really smiled or chuckled, Mamet seemed to enjoy consternating his interviewer with such flippant responses.

Mamet’s words that have most stuck with me:
Mamet quoted this line from some religious teacher, possibly a prophet, possibly the Prophet. “I am going to give you two teachers: one of them will be a speaking teacher; the other will be a silent teacher. The speaking teacher is the Qur’an. The silent teacher will be death.” He drew an analogy between these religious “teachers” and teachers of the stage. He said, In play writing, the audience is the speaking teacher. The blank piece of paper is the silent teacher.

(Flippant Mamet still flippant as cartoon)
Here, Mamet actually quotes an article written by his interviewer:
“There’s no such thing as a good poet. The poets who have not yet completed their poem are failed poets. The poets who have are ex-poets.”

Mamet was also adamant about conciseness. If there is any doubt, any doubt at all, throw the word, the line, the act out. Just throw it out! It’s like flying. If there’s any doubt about the plane’s ability to fly, don’t fly. The interviewer told the audience that while looking through Mamet’s memoirs he found a script that Mamet had rewritten twenty-six times. What’s more, the play never even made it to the stage. You just have to suffer heart break sometimes, said Mamet.