--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain…" description: "\"Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain dramaturg got a hold of a Pinter play, for example, which are all mystery and all music. That's how the life get'..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg" --- # Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain dramaturg got a hold… ![“Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain dramaturg got a hold of a Pinter play, for example, which are all mystery and all music. That's how the life get's sucked out of plays.” quote by John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg) > “Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain dramaturg got a hold of a Pinter play, for example, which are all mystery and all music. That's how the life get's sucked out of plays.” [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He warns that a director who over‑interprets a play can strip it of its natural mystery and rhythm, making it feel lifeless. **In simple terms:** Over‑analysis kills a play’s spirit. Key Takeaway Preserve the play’s original mystery and flow. Themes theatre artistic integrity interpretation creativity authenticity Mood concerned critical reflective Type analytical observational When to use this quote - directing a classic - producing a new play - teaching theatre - writing a script Key Concepts dramaturgy authorial intent performance dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How much should a director impose their vision? - What elements keep a play alive? A Different Perspective If a director adds too much personal vision, the work may lose its core impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pinter/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/) ## Related quotes > [I've always used my hair for whatever it is needed for. I had it an inch long and jet black for a Pinter play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-lumley/i-ve-always-used-my-hair-for-whatever-it-is-needed-for-i-had-it-an/) [Joanna Lumley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-lumley/) > [I don't hate nobody. I hate certain conditions that are inflicted upon the people - and they're helpless with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/i-don-t-hate-nobody-i-hate-certain-conditions-that-are-inflicted-upon/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [\| I hate it how certain people change their personality depending on the people around...hate fakeness >:o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dhir-sukhnani/i-hate-it-how-certain-people-change-their-personality-depending-on/) [Dhir Sukhnani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dhir-sukhnani/) > [“She should let one of the gentlemen with their little wager and steal a kiss. That would help her cause far more than beating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-jeffries/she-should-let-one-of-the-gentlemen-with-their-little-wager-and-steal/) [Sabrina Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-jeffries/) > [“Why would you think there was anything more between me and Mr. Pinter?" Because you blush when his name is mentioned. Because he follows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-jeffries/why-would-you-think-there-was-anything-more-between-me-and-mr-pinter/) [Sabrina Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-jeffries/) > [Most of my influences from outside the commerical strange fiction genre came in with university, discovering James Joyce and Wallace Stevens, Blake and Yeats,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-duncan/most-of-my-influences-from-outside-the-commerical-strange-fiction/) [Hal Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-duncan/) > [For me, poetry is the colour of Elizabeth Taylor's eyes, or the pauses in Pinter's plays - only the pauses, not the words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lewis/for-me-poetry-is-the-colour-of-elizabeth-taylor-s-eyes-or-the-pauses/) Roger Lewis > [I worked with Harold Pinter once as my first Broadway show. It was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-murray-abraham/i-worked-with-harold-pinter-once-as-my-first-broadway-show-it-was-one/) [F. Murray Abraham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-murray-abraham/) > [“ I'll bet My. Pinter knows his way around a rifle. She scowled. He probably thought he was a grand shot, anyway. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-jeffries/i-ll-bet-my-pinter-knows-his-way-around-a-rifle-she-scowled-he/) [Sabrina Jeffries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-jeffries/) > [The use of depleted uranium in the Gulf War has been particularly effective. Radiation levels in Iraq are appallingly high. Babies are born with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-berrigan/the-use-of-depleted-uranium-in-the-gulf-war-has-been-particularly/) [Philip Berrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-berrigan/) > [God makes something special and unique about each person that sets them apart from every other person, and to me that's is what artistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bubba-sparxxx/god-makes-something-special-and-unique-about-each-person-that-sets/) [Bubba Sparxxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bubba-sparxxx/) > [There is a temptation for an actor to editorialize what they're doing. And you can't do that with Pinter. It's almost like a musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-riegert/there-is-a-temptation-for-an-actor-to-editorialize-what-they-re-doing/) [Peter Riegert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-riegert/) > [ \[Harold Pinter\] is a British playwright and is one of my favorite writers. Harold was very obsessed with when memory becomes mythology, that at… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-vaughn/harold-pinter-is-a-british-playwright-and-is-one-of-my-favorite/) [Baron Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-vaughn/) > [There are not many intellectuals left of Harold Pinter's stature who dare raise their voices - and with such force - against the menace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gioconda-belli/there-are-not-many-intellectuals-left-of-harold-pinter-s-stature-who/) [Gioconda Belli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gioconda-belli/) > [Talk to each other. Never go to bed when you're angry with each other. Lady Antonia Frasier who was married to Harold Pinter said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/talk-to-each-other-never-go-to-bed-when-you-re-angry-with-each-other/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) ## More by John Guare > [You can't kind of take away, you either do or you don't. If you kind of take away something you're a failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/you-can-t-kind-of-take-away-you-either-do-or-you-don-t-if-you-kind-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The Atlantic Ocean was something then.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-atlantic-ocean-was-something-then/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The New York City Ballet is always about the realm of possibilities, the realm of what the human body can do, what the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-new-york-city-ballet-is-always-about-the-realm-of-possibilities/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The imagination says listen to me. I am your darkest voice. I am your 4 a.m. voice. I am the voice that wakes you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-imagination-says-listen-to-me-i-am-your-darkest-voice-i-am-your-4/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [How much of your life can you account for? My life is a collage of unaccounted for brush strokes; I am all random”.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/how-much-of-your-life-can-you-account-for-my-life-is-a-collage-of/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [To stay around any place you love, you have to have a job. In college at Georgetown in the fifties, I got my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/to-stay-around-any-place-you-love-you-have-to-have-a-job-in-college/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [You can read ten books and finally come across one detail, and it's like, "now everything else makes sense. Now I know where I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/you-can-read-ten-books-and-finally-come-across-one-detail-and-it-s/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [The only riots were the people trying to get tickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/the-only-riots-were-the-people-trying-to-get-tickets/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [I think of the New York City Ballet as the Yankees without George Steinbrenner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-think-of-the-new-york-city-ballet-as-the-yankees-without-george/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [There's no such thing as a perfect play. Sometimes you have to protect the life of the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/there-s-no-such-thing-as-a-perfect-play-sometimes-you-have-to-protect/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [Feydeau's one rule of playwriting: Character A: My life is perfect as long as I don't see Character B. Knock Knock. Enter Character B.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/feydeau-s-one-rule-of-playwriting-character-a-my-life-is-perfect-as/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [I wanted to be a Bride of Christ but I guess now I'm a young divorcee.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-wanted-to-be-a-bride-of-christ-but-i-guess-now-i-m-a-young-divorcee/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [I like to ground plays in reality so they can jump higher. So we can account for the trampoline, so we can account for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/i-like-to-ground-plays-in-reality-so-they-can-jump-higher-so-we-can/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [People go to see beautiful paintings to see how much they cost. Wow. The practical value is that it shows you what the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/people-go-to-see-beautiful-paintings-to-see-how-much-they-cost-wow/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) > [And it is always Easter Sunday at the New York City Ballet. It is always coming back to life. Not even coming back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/and-it-is-always-easter-sunday-at-the-new-york-city-ballet-it-is/) [John Guare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) [Explore all 68 John Guare quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/) ## 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": "Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain dramaturg got a hold of a Pinter play, for example, which are all mystery and all music. That's how the life get's sucked out of plays.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Guare" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dramaturg-got-a-hold-of-a-pinter/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dramaturg-got-a-hold-of-a-pinter/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b08/john-guare-10082_actor_oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dra_2334666.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh god, I'd just hate it if a certain dramaturg got a hold of a Pinter play, for example, which are all…” — John Guare", "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": "John Guare", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-guare/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Oh god, I'd just hate it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dramaturg-got-a-hold-of-a-pinter/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-guare/oh-god-i-d-just-hate-it-if-a-certain-dramaturg-got-a-hold-of-a-pinter/#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 } } ] } ```