American politics is theatre. There is a frightening emotionalism at national conventions.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It's important for me, politically, to see that theater isn't just about the powerful.
Part of the problem with producing contemporary political theater in America today is that many theaters don't have flexibility or resources, be it hiring a lot of actors or staging a work that might be tough for some audience and board members.
There is a thin line between politics and theatricals.
In politics, it's very theatrical. There's a lot of stage craft. The campaign is trying to tell a story that they want people to believe in, and candidates are playing the role, like actors, by a creative personae that people will be attracted to.
Political audiences are not fun.
But, you see, the theatre is not always art in America.
When I was a teenager, I loved political conventions.
One of the things I find very little of in America - and certainly not on Broadway - are plays with political attitudes.
I don't think it's the job of theatre at the moment to provide political propaganda; that would be simplistic. We have to explore our situation further before we will understand it.
Politics with me isn't theater. It's performance art. Sometimes, for its own sake.