--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing for theatre is certainly…" description: "\"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 story, but s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/sam-shepard-2232_also_writing-for-theatre-is-certainly-differe_2069795.jpg" --- # Writing for theatre is certainly different to writing an… ![“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 story, but sometimes the story isn't exactly what you intend; maybe you uncover something you had no idea you were going to uncover.” quote by Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/sam-shepard-2232_also_writing-for-theatre-is-certainly-differe_2069795.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/sam-shepard-2232_also_writing-for-theatre-is-certainly-differe_2069795.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a5b/sam-shepard-2232_also_writing-for-theatre-is-certainly-differe_2069795.jpg) > “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 story, but sometimes the story isn't exactly what you intend; maybe you uncover something you had no idea you were going to uncover.” [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. Playwriting demands physicality and openness, often revealing unintended truths beyond the writer’s original intent. **In simple terms:** Writing drama is physical and reveals hidden truths. Key Takeaway Write with bodily awareness and accept surprise. Themes creativity theatre discovery authenticity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type theatrical reflective When to use this quote - stage production - writing workshops - creative process - self‑exploration Key Concepts dramatic structure unconscious insight Questions to Reflect On - What hidden truths have you uncovered? - How does physicality shape your writing? A Different Perspective Unexpected discoveries can challenge the writer’s control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Telling A Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-a-story/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Uncover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/uncover/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My feeling is, when you are writing an essay, you don't make anything up. This may be a very Protestant notion, and I'm aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/my-feeling-is-when-you-are-writing-an-essay-you-don-t-make-anything/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [A lazy man works twice as hard. My mother told that to me, and now I say it to my kids. If you're writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/a-lazy-man-works-twice-as-hard-my-mother-told-that-to-me-and-now-i/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I would be writing an essay that was due in the next day until about 1 A.M., and then I would be up at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-would-be-writing-an-essay-that-was-due-in-the-next-day-until-about/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [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/) > [The wonderful thing about writing for theatre is you can go anywhere you want with the language. There are no limits. With film, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/the-wonderful-thing-about-writing-for-theatre-is-you-can-go-anywhere/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [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 > [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/) > [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 press don't wake up in the morning simply to be a mouthpiece for pols - they're out to uncover and expose news. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-willimon/the-press-don-t-wake-up-in-the-morning-simply-to-be-a-mouthpiece-for/) [Beau Willimon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-willimon/) > [“A simple look can not and will not uncover even a simple book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferrrer-joey-palomar-fesico/a-simple-look-can-not-and-will-not-uncover-even-a-simple-book/) ferrrer joey palomar fesico > [Our world is limited by the machinery we carry. It's very different to the 18th and 19th century Enlightenment scientists who were mostly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/our-world-is-limited-by-the-machinery-we-carry-it-s-very-different-to/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [“If you lead me astray, then my wanderings will bring me to my destination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-you-lead-me-astray-then-my-wanderings-will-bring-me-to-my/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Grateful daughters of God guard their bodies carefully, for they know they are the wellsprings of life, and they reverence life. They don't uncover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/grateful-daughters-of-god-guard-their-bodies-carefully-for-they-know/) [Margaret D. Nadauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-d-nadauld/) ## 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 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. 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