--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're doing a classic play, where if…" description: "\"If you're doing a classic play, where if you do a Chekhov, you do the words as written. You can't do that with a novel; you have to do your version of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sam-mendes-11815_books_if-you-re-doing-a-classic-play-where-if_770732.jpg" --- # If you're doing a classic play, where if you do a Chekhov… ![“If you're doing a classic play, where if you do a Chekhov, you do the words as written. You can't do that with a novel; you have to do your version of the words as written.” quote by Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sam-mendes-11815_books_if-you-re-doing-a-classic-play-where-if_770732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sam-mendes-11815_books_if-you-re-doing-a-classic-play-where-if_770732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/435/sam-mendes-11815_books_if-you-re-doing-a-classic-play-where-if_770732.jpg) > “If you're doing a classic play, where if you do a Chekhov, you do the words as written. You can't do that with a novel; you have to do your version of the words as written.” [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When adapting a classic, preserve original dialogue; for novels, reinterpret the text creatively. **In simple terms:** Preserve play dialogue, reinterpret novel words. Key Takeaway Adapt with fidelity to form, creativity to content. Themes adaptation artistic integrity creativity Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type instructional reflective When to use this quote - stage productions - film adaptations - scriptwriting - teaching drama - literary analysis Key Concepts literary adaptation directorial vision authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance respect for source with personal vision? - When is deviation justified? A Different Perspective Risk losing original nuance when reinterpreting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) ## Related quotes > [What I strive to do is make my characters seem like real people so that the reader experiences them as people - that's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaume-cabre/what-i-strive-to-do-is-make-my-characters-seem-like-real-people-so/) [Jaume Cabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaume-cabre/) > [I have never written a novel that volleys back and forth between a couple of different first person perspectives. It's definitely a challenge because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-have-never-written-a-novel-that-volleys-back-and-forth-between-a/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“—And I won't deny your neighbors will take you more seriously if you tell them you've written a novel. (Of course if that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-block/and-i-won-t-deny-your-neighbors-will-take-you-more-seriously-if-you/) [Lawrence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-block/) > [If I wanted to make money I would have written another novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/if-i-wanted-to-make-money-i-would-have-written-another-novel/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [“I have never written a novel yet...without doing 40,000 words or more and finding they were all wrong and going back and starting again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/i-have-never-written-a-novel-yet-without-doing-40-000-words-or-more/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [I could not have written a novel if I hadn't been a journalist first, because it taught me that there's no muse that's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-could-not-have-written-a-novel-if-i-hadn-t-been-a-journalist-first/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I used to feel for years and years and years that I was very remiss not to have written a novel and I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/i-used-to-feel-for-years-and-years-and-years-that-i-was-very-remiss/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [As an author, one of the most important things I think you can do once you've written a novel is step back. When the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/as-an-author-one-of-the-most-important-things-i-think-you-can-do-once/) [Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/) > [Just about everybody has written a first novel that they throw away before writing their actual first novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/just-about-everybody-has-written-a-first-novel-that-they-throw-away/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [It's been a while since I've written a novel aimed at the adult market, but I never sit down and say to myself, 'Okay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/it-s-been-a-while-since-i-ve-written-a-novel-aimed-at-the-adult/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [Everyone my age had written a novel and I was still having difficulty writing a paragraph.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everyone-my-age-had-written-a-novel-and-i-was-still-having-difficulty/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I'd never written a novel before, and I wrote a novel, and that turned out OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/i-d-never-written-a-novel-before-and-i-wrote-a-novel-and-that-turned/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I've never written a novel before, and part of the reason I haven't is I was worried about getting 50,000 words into a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-north/i-ve-never-written-a-novel-before-and-part-of-the-reason-i-haven-t-is/) [Ryan North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-north/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Do you know what a journalist is? Someone who hasn't written a novel yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavie-tidhar/do-you-know-what-a-journalist-is-someone-who-hasn-t-written-a-novel/) [Lavie Tidhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavie-tidhar/) ## More by Sam Mendes > [You freeze with the number of opportunities given to you and just decide to do nothing at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/you-freeze-with-the-number-of-opportunities-given-to-you-and-just/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [You've got to work. You've got to want an audience to sit forward in their chairs sometimes, rather than sit back and be bombarded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/you-ve-got-to-work-you-ve-got-to-want-an-audience-to-sit-forward-in/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [I think movies are a director's medium in the end. Theater is the actor's medium. Theater is fast, and enjoyable, and truly rewarding. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/i-think-movies-are-a-director-s-medium-in-the-end-theater-is-the/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [The importance of rehearsal is maybe you want to talk about how the scene's going to be designed, how it's going to be staged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/the-importance-of-rehearsal-is-maybe-you-want-to-talk-about-how-the/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [I've directed bits of action and so I know that it's long and it's very detailed. 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I just want to enjoy all that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/now-im-back-home-living-in-london-running-my-theater-i-just-want-to/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [All I know is that I operate by going out to each of them and trying to learn the territory in which they operate.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/all-i-know-is-that-i-operate-by-going-out-to-each-of-them-and-trying/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [I've made movies that cost less than one car chase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/i-ve-made-movies-that-cost-less-than-one-car-chase/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [There's good and bad in everybody. I wasn't looking for the good, or looking for the bad. This is a man who signed his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/there-s-good-and-bad-in-everybody-i-wasn-t-looking-for-the-good-or/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [Children make you confront your own childhood. Which I think is common. Suddenly you're remembering your own parents as parents, not to mention the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/children-make-you-confront-your-own-childhood-which-i-think-is-common/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [Shooting action is very, very meticulous, it's increments, tiny little pieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/shooting-action-is-very-very-meticulous-it-s-increments-tiny-little/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [Politicizing of kids starts with pregnancy, of course. You shouldn't be drinking wine. You can't be smoking, either. 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In the theater, one is more used to casting people against type and trusting that their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/actors-get-pigeonholed-very-quickly-particularly-movie-actors-in-the/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) > [You think about taking audiences on a journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-mendes/you-think-about-taking-audiences-on-a-journey/) [Sam Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) [Explore all 57 Sam Mendes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-mendes/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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