What I hate about kitchen-sink dramas is [this idea] that the set is real, therefore you're going to be seeing truth. You have to earn truth. Truth can't be a part of the fact that people appear to talk that way and live in that room. You're looking for the poetry in something, and I don't mean poetry in the fancy sense. Naturalism believes by just replicating a thing you give the truth, rather than earning the truth.
Interpretation
The quote critiques kitchen-sink dramas by stating that true representation and truth in art must be earned, not just replicated.
John Guare's quote emphasizes the importance of depth and authenticity in artistic expression, particularly in the context of kitchen-sink dramas. He argues that simply imitating reality or creating a seemingly realistic setting does not guarantee that the art will convey genuine truth. Instead, he suggests that true artistic expression requires a deeper exploration and understanding of the human condition, where the nuances and complexities of life are turned into something poetic, transcending mere replication of reality.
In practice
In a film discussion about the authenticity of emotional representation among characters.
You must keep people happy backstage because that affects what's onstage. During a run, the playwright feels like the mayor of a small town filled with noble creatures who have to get out there and make it brand new every night. When a production works, it's unlike any other joy in the world.
None of the films I've done was designed for a mass audience, except for 'Indiana Jones.' Nobody in their right mind thought 'American Graffiti' or 'Star Wars' would work.
I always wrote. I wrote every day. I don't think I could have written 'Just Kids' had I not spent all of the '80s developing my craft as a writer.
I was born in a world of opera, theatre, films, poetry, art, and therefore, out of the wire, I made a stage. That's why they call me a high wire artist.
And, I mean, I think poetry does need to be met to some extent, especially, I guess, 19th century poetry, and for me, it's just been so worth the effort. It's like I'm planting a garden in my head.
Drawing is a way of coming upon the connection between things, just like metaphor in poetry reconnects what has become separated.
There is this aura that the three-act play is the important one: it's the one that you do to win the Pulitzer. Some part of you falls for that, and then after a while, you don't fall for that.
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