--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any play is hard to write, and plays are…" description: "\"Any play is hard to write, and plays are getting harder and harder to get on the stage.\" — Alan Alda" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png" --- # Any play is hard to write, and plays are getting harder… ![“Any play is hard to write, and plays are getting harder and harder to get on the stage.” quote by Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png) > “Any play is hard to write, and plays are getting harder and harder to get on the stage.” [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing plays is increasingly difficult, and staging them is becoming even harder. **In simple terms:** Plays are hard to write and get produced. Key Takeaway Accept the challenge and seek alternative platforms. Themes theatre creative process industry challenges Mood frustrated realistic Type observational critical When to use this quote - playwriting - theatre production - career planning Key Concepts Artistic integrity market pressures Questions to Reflect On - How can playwrights adapt to a changing market? - What alternative venues exist for new works? A Different Perspective Even with talent, external factors limit success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [As soon as you get complacent with where you are in a game, that's where you come and then it bites you in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-kelce/as-soon-as-you-get-complacent-with-where-you-are-in-a-game-that-s/) [Travis Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-kelce/) > [That's one of the best parts of football is getting into the x's and o's and just coming together, and completing plays together, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-jones/that-s-one-of-the-best-parts-of-football-is-getting-into-the-x-s-and/) [Mac Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-jones/) > [As you write plays, you discover what you believe. And until you know what you believe, you can't write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/as-you-write-plays-you-discover-what-you-believe-and-until-you-know/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [I fell into writing plays by accident. But the reason I write plays is that it's the only thing I'm any good at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hare/i-fell-into-writing-plays-by-accident-but-the-reason-i-write-plays-is/) [David Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hare/) > [Well, all the plays that I was trying to write were plays that would grab an audience by the throat and not release them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-miller/well-all-the-plays-that-i-was-trying-to-write-were-plays-that-would/) [Arthur Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-miller/) > [I write plays about big, intense subjects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-write-plays-about-big-intense-subjects/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [When people asked me what I was going to do when I grow up, I always said, 'I'm going to be a writer. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mara-wilson/when-people-asked-me-what-i-was-going-to-do-when-i-grow-up-i-always/) [Mara Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mara-wilson/) > [I found it was my good fortune to somehow be able to work in these forms that I loved when I was a kid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-feiffer/i-found-it-was-my-good-fortune-to-somehow-be-able-to-work-in-these/) [Jules Feiffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-feiffer/) > [When I was first starting to write plays, I quite literally had never heard of the idea of studying playwriting. I wouldn't have studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-first-starting-to-write-plays-i-quite-literally-had-never/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [If it is permissible to write plays that are not intended to be seen, I should like to see who can prevent me from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/if-it-is-permissible-to-write-plays-that-are-not-intended-to-be-seen/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Singing like I do is very hard, and as you get older, it's getting harder and harder all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilson-pickett/singing-like-i-do-is-very-hard-and-as-you-get-older-it-s-getting/) [Wilson Pickett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilson-pickett/) > [In corporate life, I have noticed, it is getting harder and harder to say that things are bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-coles/in-corporate-life-i-have-noticed-it-is-getting-harder-and-harder-to/) [Richard Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-coles/) > [“It’s getting harder,” his breath caressed my cheek. “What is?” I asked. “To resist you,” his fingers flexed against me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micalea-smeltzer/it-s-getting-harder-his-breath-caressed-my-cheek-what-is-i-asked-to/) [Micalea Smeltzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micalea-smeltzer/) > [Now the current's only pulling me down Its getting harder too breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/3-doors-down/now-the-current-s-only-pulling-me-down-its-getting-harder-too-breath/) [3 Doors Down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/3-doors-down/) > [Birthdays are getting harder as I get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-janney/birthdays-are-getting-harder-as-i-get-older/) [Allison Janney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-janney/) ## More by Alan Alda > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [We need to be more conversant with it because science is in our lives. It's in everything. It's in the food we eat. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/we-need-to-be-more-conversant-with-it-because-science-is-in-our-lives/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [When I studied how to think in school, I was taught that the first rule of logic was that a thing cannot both be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/when-i-studied-how-to-think-in-school-i-was-taught-that-the-first/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [I was brought up as a Catholic, and I'm no longer a Catholic. I don't talk about my beliefs too much in public probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/i-was-brought-up-as-a-catholic-and-i-m-no-longer-a-catholic-i-don-t/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [life is meaningless unless you bring meaning to it; ... it is up to us to create our own existence. Unless you do something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/life-is-meaningless-unless-you-bring-meaning-to-it-it-is-up-to-us-to/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [“My mother didn't try to stab my father until I was six.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/my-mother-didn-t-try-to-stab-my-father-until-i-was-six/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [Originality is unexplored territory. You get there by carrying a canoe - you can't take a taxi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/originality-is-unexplored-territory-you-get-there-by-carrying-a-canoe/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [It's always better to be wise than to be smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/it-s-always-better-to-be-wise-than-to-be-smart/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [M\*A\*S\*H' was a collection of people, in front of and behind the cameras, that really clicked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/m-a-s-h-was-a-collection-of-people-in-front-of-and-behind-the-cameras/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [“Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/be-brave-enough-to-live-creatively-the-creative-is-the-place-where-no/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [To do a musical takes a tremendous amount of energy because you have to act and sing at the same time. And everything has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/to-do-a-musical-takes-a-tremendous-amount-of-energy-because-you-have/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [Be brave enough to live creatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/be-brave-enough-to-live-creatively/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [It's better to be wise than to be smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/it-s-better-to-be-wise-than-to-be-smart/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [“You can't get there by bus, only by hard work, risking, and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/you-can-t-get-there-by-bus-only-by-hard-work-risking-and-by-not-quite/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [I used to read science fiction a lot, and I still like science fiction when it is a model of how we really are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/i-used-to-read-science-fiction-a-lot-and-i-still-like-science-fiction/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) [Explore all 203 Alan Alda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any play is hard to write, and plays are getting harder and harder to get on the stage.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Alda" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are-getting-harder-and-harder-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are-getting-harder-and-harder-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/alan-alda-1859_actor_any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are_1464997.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any play is hard to write, and plays are getting harder and harder to get on the stage.” — Alan Alda", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alan Alda", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any play is hard to write,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are-getting-harder-and-harder-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/any-play-is-hard-to-write-and-plays-are-getting-harder-and-harder-to/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```