If I had to name one book that has had the most lasting influence on my work, I would pick 'The Big Sea' by Langston Hughes.
Pearl Cleage
I didn't have a dream of being a press secretary, I had a dream of being a playwright; I had a dream of being a novelist and a poet.
I think that theater is a unique way to communicate with people as they gather together with other people they may not even know. It creates a sense of shared community for the time of the performance that hopefully carries over into other aspects of the audience's life because they have shared this experience together.
I was raised in a very activist household so that I grew up surrounded by people who were activists.
I really love writing comedy. Writing romantic comedy is even nicer because you get to write about how insane we all act when we're falling in love.
I've never been to Paris. I don't like to fly!
When you sit down to write, you have to be prepared to strip all of those voices away, all of the censors away, and talk about what you think the truth is, which I think is really the task of the writer - to get to the truth.
Many times, what people call 'writer's block' is the confusion that happens when a writer has a great idea, but their writing skill is not up to the task of putting that idea down on paper. I think that learning the craft of writing is critical.
Putting words on paper regularly is part of the necessary discipline of writing. A journal is a great way to do that.
I think the black community is no different from any other community. We need to take responsibility for how we live together. We need to be personally responsible for keeping our streets clean, our schools safe, and our houses peaceful.
As African-Americans, we often spend our time and energy blaming other people for the problems we see around us.
I truly love the rehearsal process, those eight hours a day! I really love actors.
I'm not one of those playwrights who says, 'Show up, hit your marks, and don't talk to me!' I always want to hear from the other artists involved, whether it's the director, the lighting tech, or the actors.
When you're writing first person, all I can see and tell as the author is what that main character can see.
I think one of the things that writers and creative artists generally have to deal with is the censors that we have in our heads, the voices that we have that say you better not tell that and don't tell that, and people will think you're not a good girl, and your grandmother's going to be mad at you and all of those things.
I worked in Maynard Jackson's first campaign, and I remember the excitement we felt when he won.
That's why I love being a writer. My imagination can take me places I may never see except in my mind's eye.
I've always loved the '40s romantic comedies and the idea of those mistaken identities and lovers' misunderstandings.
Most of us, I think, are conscious of history swirling around outside the door, but when we're in the house, we're usually not dealing with history. We're not thinking about history.
Denzel Washington is a big Hollywood movie star now. But he started out as an actor in the Negro Ensemble company.
