I'm perpetually curious as to what happened to all those supposed prodigies who were singled out while I and my coterie of far more interesting malcontents passed on. Wendy Wasserstein More Quotes by Wendy Wasserstein More Quotes From Wendy Wasserstein Don't live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. Wendy Wasserstein encouragingdreamgraduation The signature of a truly enviable woman is the tenacity and continuity of her women friends. Wendy Wasserstein continuitytenacitysignatures No matter how successful I become as a playwright, my mother would be thrilled to hear me tell her that I'd just lost twenty pounds, gotten married and become a lawyer. Wendy Wasserstein womensuccessfulmother The arts reflect profoundly the most democratic credo, the belief in an individual vision or voice . . . The arts' belief in potential gives each of us -- both audience and creator -- pride in our society's ability to nurture individuals. Wendy Wasserstein voiceprideart I really worked at becoming more assertive, and now none of my friends talk to me. Wendy Wasserstein assertivetalk-to-mebecoming I thought I would write something that would make some people uncomfortable. . . . What intrigued me, I think, was the idea of women of my own generation who were successful, intelligent, coming to power and suddenly in the public arena. I started to think about what they are allowed and what they are not allowed. Wendy Wasserstein intelligentsuccessfulwriting I'm not going to throw my imagination away. I refuse to lie down to expectation. If I can just hold out till I'm thirty, I'll be incredible. Wendy Wasserstein imaginationexpectationslying Every year I resolve to be a little less the me I know and leave a little room for the me I could be. Every year I make a note not to feel left behind by my friends and family who have managed to change far more than I. Wendy Wasserstein family-and-friendslittlesyears I wrote my first play, Uncommon Women and Others, in the hopes of seeing an all-female curtain call in the basement of the Yale School of Drama. A man in the audience stood up during a post show discussion and announced, “I can't get into this, it's all about girls.” I thought to myself, “Well, I've been getting in to Hamlet and Laurence of Arabia my whole life, so you better start trying.” Wendy Wasserstein girldramaschool I very much write from characters. Those people start speaking, and then I have them in the house with me and I live with them. Then at some point, it's time to get them out of the house. You can only live with someone like Dr. Georgeous Teitelbaum from THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG for so long, and then it's time for her to go. But it is very like having the company of these people and trying to craft them in some way into a story. Wendy Wasserstein writingcharacterlong The trick. . .is to find the balance between the bright colors of humor and the serious issues of identity, self-loathing, and the possibility for intimacy and love when it seems no longer possible or, sadder yet, no longer necessary. Wendy Wasserstein issuesselfhappiness As I ramble through life, whatever be my goal, I will unfortunately always keep my eye upon the doughnut and not upon the whole. Wendy Wasserstein eyelossfood The struggle to be considered a grown-up begins, I believe, shortly after birth. Wendy Wasserstein birthstrugglebelieve Our lives are not totally random. We make commitments, we cause things to happen. Wendy Wasserstein planscausescommitment No matter how lonely you get or how many birth announcements you receive, the trick is not to get frightened. There's nothing wrong with being alone. Wendy Wasserstein being-alonelonelyloneliness The real reason for comedy is to hide the pain. Wendy Wasserstein comedypainreal anyone who writes plays is unbelievably persistent, because there isn't a need in the world for plays. Somehow you internally have to feel a need to write a play. Wendy Wasserstein playwritingneeds I don't much like to think that being a bachelor girl limits how you see the world. On the other hand, I know it certainly limits how the world sees you. Wendy Wasserstein girlhandsthinking Being a grownup means assuming responsibility for yourself, for your children, and - here's the big curve - for your parents. Wendy Wasserstein responsibilitymeanchildren The marriages come and go but your friendships stay, which is the opposite of what it used to be, so that there will be people in our lives for 30 years and often it is not your husband, it's your women friends, male friends with whom you come of age. Wendy Wasserstein husbandoppositesyears
