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.'
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of challenging limitations and breaking barriers.
Lynn Nottage's quote reflects a powerful assertion against the stereotypes and limitations imposed by society, particularly regarding the capabilities of African American women in the theater industry. By questioning the established narrative that suggests they cannot succeed in leading roles on Broadway, she inspires others to take action and prove such assumptions wrong. This sentiment reinforces the idea that progress is achieved by confronting and overcoming preconceived notions.
In practice
This quote could be used during a panel discussion on diversity 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.
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.
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.
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.
War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In war there is no substitute for victory.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from falling hands we throw.
I do oppose_x000D_ _x000D_ My patience to his fury, and am arm'd_x000D_ _x000D_ To suffer, with a quietness of spirit,_x000D_ _x000D_ The very tyranny and rage of his.
A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for.
The true alpinist doesn't want any infrastructure, he wants to go into the wild. And the odds of getting killed there are relatively high. And most people are sensible enough not to want that.
Just as so many rivers, so many showers of rain from above, so many medicinal springs do not alter the taste of the sea, so the pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man. For it maintains its balance, and over all that happens it throws its own complexion, because it is more powerful than external circumstances.
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