It's incumbent on us to reach beyond the confines of the institutions that traditionally produce art and find new ways to get it to the people.
Interpretation
We must seek innovative methods to share art with the public, rather than relying solely on traditional institutions.
In this quote, Lynn Nottage emphasizes the responsibility of artists and art producers to transcend the limitations of established institutions, such as galleries and theaters, which may restrict access to art. She advocates for finding new approaches to deliver art directly to the people, thus fostering a broader appreciation and engagement with artistic expressions.
In practice
During an art symposium, to highlight the importance of community engagement in the arts.
People probably have different philosophies about this, but I think that when you're first shaping the play and trying to find a character, the initial actors that develop it end up imprinting on it - you hear their voices; you hear their rhythms. You can't help but to begin to write toward them during the rehearsal process.
There were not a lot of women in the theater department - it was really run by men, and so the message was that women can be onstage, but women can't really be backstage.
The person whose work introduced me to the craft was Lorraine Hansberry. The person who taught me to love the craft was Tennessee Williams. The person who really taught me the power of the craft was August Wilson, and the person who taught me the political heft of the craft was Arthur Miller.
I was repeatedly told that there isn't an African American woman who can open a show on Broadway. I said, 'Well, how do we know? How do we know if we don't do it?' I said, 'I think you're wrong.'
Once working people discover that, collectively, we have more power than we do as individual silos, then we become an incredibly powerful force. But I think that there are powers that be that are invested in us remaining divided along racial lines, along economic lines.
My grandfather was a Pullman porter, and my father put his way through college by cleaning floors at night in the libraries. I understand that working people are in some way the bedrock of my existence and the existence of many people here.
I'm not performing anymore. I reveal myself to the audience. I reveal myself. That's the show now.
When you write from your gut and let the stuff stay flawed and don't let anybody tell you to make it better, it can end up looking like nothing else.
I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders according to how I feel about that color that day.
I want to do work that means something to me so that when I go to work at the theater eight times a week, I want to be there.
I meet young artists and it becomes clear that with some the main motivation is getting a show in Chelsea. It strikes me that this is very different to the way it was for me, which was that I wanted to understand photography and the world and myself.
The object of art is to give life shape.
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