Christopher Durang
Christopher Durang
Christopher Ferdinand Durangis an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. His play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2013. The production was directed by Nicholas Martin, and featured Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Billy Magnussen, Shalita Grant and Genevieve Angelson...
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth2 January 1949
friday justice church
It was before Vatican II and the liberalization of church doctrine. You weren't meant to eat meat on Friday in deference to Christ, who died on Friday. If you did, you went to hell, . . That way, Hitler would be in hell alongside someone who ate meat on Friday. I thought there was no justice there.
bad cannot laugh mood problem seems serious throes
Usually you cannot laugh if you are in a bad mood or in the throes of a problem that seems like the most serious problem in the world.
balance based care characters close comic sad since surreal
Since it's based on my parents, it's more emotionally close to me than some of my more surreal plays. And then I like the balance of the comic and the sad. It should play as funny, but you should care about the characters and feel sad for them.
behavior chaotic crazy feels impulses order
One of my impulses in writing is to take people's crazy behavior and try to make order of what sometimes feels chaotic in the past.
best confront father fought mother
My father was an alcoholic, and my mother fought with him when he was drunk, which was not necessarily the best way to confront the problem.
believed family mary sister teacher teachers
I didn't have a teacher like Sister Mary Ignatius, ... But I believed everything my teachers and many in my family said.
mad
It was like . . . Mad magazine,
parent knows
My parents didn't really know one another.
religious writing thinking
The first several scenes are about sexual addiction. They're not specifically political at all. . . . I didn't sit down and think, I am going to write something about the religious right. I started out by writing something about sexual addiction, and it evolved. . . . I don't look at a calendar and say, Oh! There's going to be an election in 1996. I think now, in 1993, I'll start writing a play that will be ready for it.
college film obsession
Then in college I became obsessed with film, and wanted to be part of that.
grateful parent
When my parents separated, I was very grateful.
jobs acting resentment
Since I also act, sometimes I get over my resentment and commit to the pitch as an acting job.
teacher mary
I didn't have a teacher like Sister Mary Ignatius.
theatre grew grew-up
I grew up wanting to be a writer for theatre.