David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwangis a Tony Award-winning American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth11 August 1957
CountryUnited States of America
hate missing sometimes
Sometimes I hate you, sometimes I hate myself, but always I miss you
reason-why silent reason
There's a reason why the form was originally silent
prisoner our-time
We are all prisoners of our time and place.
religious fall acceptance
I now know that to do a worthwhile family history I must interpret the past without falling into either demonizing or unquestioning acceptance. . . . As a playwright, what I object to right now is any form of fundamentalism, whether it's nationalistic, religious or ethnic. . . . I think it is ridiculous - and fundamentalist, by the way - to say that I am not changed by the culture around me.
children memories grandmother
Originally the structure was . . . a modern narrator who would appear intermittently and talk about his memories of his grandmother, which would then be juxtaposed against scenes from the past. But the stories from the past were always more interesting that the things in the present. I find this almost endemic to modern plays that veer between past and present. . . . So as we've gone on developing GOLDEN CHILD, the scenes from the past have become more dominant, and all that remains of the present are these two little bookends that frame the action.
ideas car theatre
I've never quite understood the idea of a "season." Whenever an artistic director says to me, 'I have this slot,' I always start to feel we're parking cars or something.
Now I see -- we are always most revolted by the things hidden within us.
men opera roles
Why, in the Peking Opera, are women's roles played by men?...Because only a man knows how a woman is supposed to act.
heart writing stories
It's the stories that make my heart beat faster ...those are the ones to write about
dream want way
I define the American dream as the ability to imagine a way that you want your life to turn out, and have a reasonable hope that you can achieve that.
rights issues goal
. . . I felt I was finally in a position to affect not only the artistic content of the American theatre, but also its institutional structures. This has been an important goal of mine, as there have always been a variety of issues - artistic freedom, author's rights, access by minority groups - which have concerned me and even influenced my decision to become a playwright in the first place.
character writing battle
To me to write well is to battle stereotypes. To write well is to create three-dimensional characters that seem human.
crazy looks
I'm happy. Which often looks like crazy.
good plays
I think that plays are probably the most personal, because it's just me in charge, but sometimes it's just really - I think that there's honor in being a good artist, and there's honor in being a good 'craftsperson.'