--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The wonderful thing about writing for…" description: "\"The wonderful thing about writing for theatre is you can go anywhere you want with the language. There are no limits. With film, they frown on language..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/sam-shepard-2232_cinema_the-wonderful-thing-about-writing-for-th_1642135.jpg" --- # The wonderful thing about writing for theatre is you can… ![“The wonderful thing about writing for theatre is you can go anywhere you want with the language. There are no limits. With film, they frown on language - it's always 'Too many words.'” quote by Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/sam-shepard-2232_cinema_the-wonderful-thing-about-writing-for-th_1642135.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/sam-shepard-2232_cinema_the-wonderful-thing-about-writing-for-th_1642135.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9e/sam-shepard-2232_cinema_the-wonderful-thing-about-writing-for-th_1642135.jpg) > “The wonderful thing about writing for theatre is you can go anywhere you want with the language. There are no limits. With film, they frown on language - it's always 'Too many words.'” [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Theatre allows limitless linguistic creativity, unlike film’s constraints **In simple terms:** Theatre embraces limitless language Key Takeaway Explore creative language use Themes theatre creativity language Mood inspirational analytical Type theatrical artistic When to use this quote - stage performance - writing workshops - film criticism Key Concepts artistic freedom scriptwriting Questions to Reflect On - How does medium shape language use? - What limits inspire creativity? A Different Perspective Film may also offer visual storytelling strengths ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-limits-576485/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Thing Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-writing/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-theatre-576484/) ## Related quotes > [Writing for the theatre is so different to writing for anything else. Because what you write is eventually going to be spoken. That's why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/writing-for-the-theatre-is-so-different-to-writing-for-anything-else/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Writing for theatre is certainly different to writing an essay or any other kind of fiction or prose: it's physical. You're also telling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/writing-for-theatre-is-certainly-different-to-writing-an-essay-or-any/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [“The limits of my language are the limits of my universe”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/the-limits-of-my-language-are-the-limits-of-my-universe/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [“The topics which language limits us to aren’t much worth discussing in the first place. (attrib: F.L. Vanderson)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mort-w-lumsden/the-topics-which-language-limits-us-to-aren-t-much-worth-discussing/) [Mort W. Lumsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mort-w-lumsden/) > [The great thing for me, now, is that writing has become more and more interesting. Not just as a craft but as a way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/the-great-thing-for-me-now-is-that-writing-has-become-more-and-more/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I started writing for the theatre because I hated it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eug-ne-ionesco/i-started-writing-for-the-theatre-because-i-hated-it/) [Eugene Ionesco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eug-ne-ionesco/) > [All of my scripts are based on other people's novels. Generally, I consider myself as one who writes for theatre. I do not see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/all-of-my-scripts-are-based-on-other-people-s-novels-generally-i/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [A multivalent culture is an amazing place to be writing theatre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ruhl/a-multivalent-culture-is-an-amazing-place-to-be-writing-theatre/) [Sarah Ruhl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ruhl/) > [Theatre can entertain, provoke, challenge, investigate, comfort and educate. It's arrogant of a playwright to think education is more important than anything else. Writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-beaton/theatre-can-entertain-provoke-challenge-investigate-comfort-and/) [Alistair Beaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-beaton/) > [I feel like I'm put in a position where I have to engage with what people bring to my work, which is an expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branden-jacobs-jenkins/i-feel-like-i-m-put-in-a-position-where-i-have-to-engage-with-what/) [Branden Jacobs-Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branden-jacobs-jenkins/) > [The great thing about writing compared to life is getting to tie things up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-great-thing-about-writing-compared-to-life-is-getting-to-tie/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [My prescription for writer's block is to face the fact that there is no such thing… Writing well is difficult, but one can always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mallon/my-prescription-for-writer-s-block-is-to-face-the-fact-that-there-is/) [Thomas Mallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mallon/) > [There have been times when I've written something and it goes out and it comes back in a letter from some kid as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-have-been-times-when-i-ve-written-something-and-it-goes-out-and/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [It's a funny thing about writing. You get so balled up in a story idea that you lose your perspective and forget that human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/it-s-a-funny-thing-about-writing-you-get-so-balled-up-in-a-story-idea/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [The thing about writing or making art is that I'm not thinking about that stuff while I'm doing it. Like the driver's ed kid,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-martin/the-thing-about-writing-or-making-art-is-that-i-m-not-thinking-about/) [Chelsea Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-martin/) ## More by Sam Shepard > [I guess what I like is mostly country & western or else stuff that has a real blues feel to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-guess-what-i-like-is-mostly-country-western-or-else-stuff-that-has/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [You can write 16 plays and not make as much money as you did doing one movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/you-can-write-16-plays-and-not-make-as-much-money-as-you-did-doing/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's funny, in a way the actor is a writer. It's not like the two things are so separate as to be like apples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-funny-in-a-way-the-actor-is-a-writer-it-s-not-like-the-two/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Character is an essential tendency. It can be covered up, it can be messed with, it can be screwed around with, but it can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/character-is-an-essential-tendency-it-can-be-covered-up-it-can-be/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Why would you want to be be counseled in your grief? It's too private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/why-would-you-want-to-be-be-counseled-in-your-grief-it-s-too-private/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Farm country -- you know, hay, horses, cattle. It's the ideal situation for me. I like the physical endeavors that go with the farm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/farm-country-you-know-hay-horses-cattle-it-s-the-ideal-situation-for/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I think comedy's harder to pull off on the screen than on the stage, anyway. Tragedy is easier on the screen... oddly enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-think-comedy-s-harder-to-pull-off-on-the-screen-than-on-the-stage/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [“Those are the most monotonous fuckin' crickets I ever heard in my life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/those-are-the-most-monotonous-fuckin-crickets-i-ever-heard-in-my-life/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [All good writing comes out of aloneness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/all-good-writing-comes-out-of-aloneness/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [When I first started in film, I was terrified of the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-i-first-started-in-film-i-was-terrified-of-the-camera/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [I'll develop my own image. I'm an original man. A one and only. I just need some help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/i-ll-develop-my-own-image-i-m-an-original-man-a-one-and-only-i-just/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [When I just sit around my house and work, I can work two, three hours, and then I go off and ride a horse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/when-i-just-sit-around-my-house-and-work-i-can-work-two-three-hours/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Hollywood is geared toward teenage idiocy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/hollywood-is-geared-toward-teenage-idiocy/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [It's my private life, and it's not up for grabs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/it-s-my-private-life-and-it-s-not-up-for-grabs/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Keep away from fantasy. Shake off the image,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/keep-away-from-fantasy-shake-off-the-image/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) [Explore all 176 Sam Shepard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [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/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The wonderful thing about writing for theatre is you can go anywhere you want with the language. There are no limits. 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