Tag Archives: scripts

“That’s the Irish People all over – they treat a serious thing as a joke and a joke as a serious thing.” — Seán O’Casey, Shadow of a Gunman

Posted on March 30, 2026 by sheila

“You cannot put a rope around the neck of an idea; you cannot put an idea up against the barrack-square wall and riddle it with bullets; you cannot confine it in the strongest prison cell your slaves could ever build.” … Continue reading →

Posted in On This Day, Theatre, writers | Tagged , | 7 Comments

“Make voyages! — Attempt them! — there’s nothing else …” — Tennessee Williams

Posted on March 26, 2026 by sheila

Tennessee Williams (Thomas Lanier Williams) was born on this day in Columbus, Mississippi in 1911. Will you do a total stranger the kindness of reading his verse? Thank you! Thomas Lanier Williams — Tennessee Williams, letter to editor Harriet Monroe, … Continue reading →

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“The worst enemy of truth and freedom in our society is the compact majority.” — Henrik Ibsen

Posted on March 20, 2026 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. Some posts from my archive: This is a doozy, an excerpt from an amazing book made up of transcribed lectures on Ibsen, Chekhov and Strindberg, by legendary actress and acting teacher Stella Adler. It’s a great … Continue reading →

Posted in James Joyce, On This Day, Theatre, writers | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

“If it was raining soup, the Irish would go out with forks.” – Happy Birthday, Brendan Behan

Posted on February 9, 2026 by sheila

“Shakespeare said pretty well everything and what he left out, James Joyce, with a judge from meself, put in.” – Brendan Behan Brendan Behan, Irish playwright, IRA man, was born in Dublin on this day, 1923. He lived a life … Continue reading →

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“Medicine is my lawful wife, and literature is my mistress. When I get fed up with one, I spend the night with the other.” — Anton Chekhov

Posted on January 29, 2026 by sheila

It’s his birthday today. Anton Chekhov, letter to actress (and wife) Olga Knipper January 2, 1901 “Describe at least one rehearsal of Three Sisters for me. Isn’t there anything which needs adding or subtracting? Are you acting well, my darling? … Continue reading →

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2025 Books Read

Posted on December 30, 2025 by sheila

I ended last year with a flurry of Oscar Wilde’s short stories, declaring I’d read all the plays in 2025. I mean, there were only five, sadly, due to the homophobic violence of his own society. I know these plays … Continue reading →

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A Streetcar Named Desire: That’s What Williams Wrote. Deal With It.

Posted on December 3, 2025 by sheila

A re-post for the anniversary of Streetcar debuting on Broadway. I wrote this essay after seeing a 2011 production of Streetcar at Williamstown. Directed by David Cromer Starring Sam Rockwell as Stanley Kowalski, Jessica Hecht as Blanche DuBois, Ana Reeder … Continue reading →

Posted in Actors, On This Day, Theatre | Tagged , , , | 55 Comments

“If someone spends his life writing the truth without caring for the consequences, he inevitably becomes a political authority in a totalitarian regime.” — Václav Havel

Posted on October 5, 2025 by sheila

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” — Václav Havel Václav Havel, whose birthday … Continue reading →

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“I’ve had my best times trailing a Mainbocher evening gown across a sawdust floor. I’ve always loved high style in low company.” — Anita Loos

Posted on April 26, 2025 by sheila

Anita Loos’ screenwriting credits are so extensive it’s impossible to absorb them. She’s most well-known for writing the book Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which was made into a successful movie a couple of times – first in 1928 and then again … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Movies, On This Day, writers | Tagged , | 8 Comments

2024 Books Read

Posted on December 30, 2024 by sheila

1. Brotherhood of Tyrants: Manic Depression and Absolute Power, by D. Jablow Hershman I was talking with the doctor who helps me manage my bipolar. He saved my life back in 2013. Well, it was a group effort. He knows … Continue reading →

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