--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The plays should have the half-life of…" description: "\"“The plays should have the half-life of plutonium.”\" — Suzan-Lori Parks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/suzan-lori-parks-20794_drama_the-plays-should-have-the-half-life-of-p_93724.png" --- # The plays should have the half-life of plutonium. ![“The plays should have the half-life of plutonium.” quote by Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/suzan-lori-parks-20794_drama_the-plays-should-have-the-half-life-of-p_93724.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/suzan-lori-parks-20794_drama_the-plays-should-have-the-half-life-of-p_93724.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/suzan-lori-parks-20794_drama_the-plays-should-have-the-half-life-of-p_93724.png) > ““The plays should have the half-life of plutonium.”” [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that theatrical works should possess a lasting, radioactive impact, persisting far beyond their initial performance like plutonium’s half‑life. **In simple terms:** Plays ought to endure like radioactive material. Key Takeaway Art can be timeless and potent. Themes artistic longevity impact radioactivity metaphor theatre cultural memory Mood provocative intellectual critical Type metaphorical critical observation When to use this quote - playwriting workshops - theatre criticism - cultural policy Key Concepts durability symbolism Practical Applications - script development - artistic education Questions to Reflect On - What qualities give a play lasting relevance? - How does the metaphor of half‑life shape our view of art? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Drama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drama/) [Half life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-life/) [Plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/) [Plutonium](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plutonium/) [Theater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theater/) ## Related quotes > [There are many different kinds of radioactive waste and each has its own half-life so, just to be on the safe side and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-r-brower/there-are-many-different-kinds-of-radioactive-waste-and-each-has-its/) [David R. 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When those guys get out of a spaceship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/my-plays-are-for-the-kind-of-black-people-who-relate-to-funk-music-to/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [“I knew we were going to pass one of the Soviet Union’s most secret atomic sites, the subterranean labyrinth code-named Krasnoyarsk-26, once one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-meier/i-knew-we-were-going-to-pass-one-of-the-soviet-union-s-most-secret/) [Andrew Meier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-meier/) > [Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality... 'The Odd Couple' was mine. That was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-matthau/every-actor-looks-all-his-life-for-a-part-that-will-combine-his/) [Walter Matthau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-matthau/) > [The concept of this so-called "TerraPower reactor" is that you, in the same reactor, you both burn and breed. 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Most die within that area,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-caldicott/if-you-inhale-a-millionth-of-a-gram-of-plutonium-the-surrounding/) [Helen Caldicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-caldicott/) > [There was a concept a long time ago that you would do a different type of reactor called a "fast reactor," that would make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/there-was-a-concept-a-long-time-ago-that-you-would-do-a-different/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Robert Redford ... has turned almost alarmingly blond-he's gone past platinum, he must be into plutonium; his hair is coordinated with his teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/robert-redford-has-turned-almost-alarmingly-blond-he-s-gone-past/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) ## More by Suzan-Lori Parks > [I like to give and get basically anything (I love to read) but especially fiction and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/i-like-to-give-and-get-basically-anything-i-love-to-read-but/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [Be bold. 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When those guys get out of a spaceship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/my-plays-are-for-the-kind-of-black-people-who-relate-to-funk-music-to/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [I knew that I was learning one of the most important lessons of my life: that instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/i-knew-that-i-was-learning-one-of-the-most-important-lessons-of-my/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [ The first time I went over to \[my director's\] house, he said to me, This is a very strange play. I was pleased that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/the-first-time-i-went-over-to-my-director-s-house-he-said-to-me-this/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [One could get locked in by the Pulitzer, thinking, 'This is who I am.' Doors open with it, but doors in your mind could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/one-could-get-locked-in-by-the-pulitzer-thinking-this-is-who-i-am/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [People ask me when I decided to become a playwright, and I tell them I decide to do it every day. Most days it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/people-ask-me-when-i-decided-to-become-a-playwright-and-i-tell-them-i/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [I realized that my circumstances, while causing me despair and heartbreak, also held great possibility, if only I could see it. I knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/i-realized-that-my-circumstances-while-causing-me-despair-and/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [Some people think I am an issue-oriented writer, but I've never said to myself, I'm gong to write about such-and-such an issue - that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/some-people-think-i-am-an-issue-oriented-writer-but-i-ve-never-said/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) > [I love beautiful black-and-white movies - anything Bette Davis, especially 'Now', 'Voyager', 'Casablanca', 'Mildred Pierce'; anything by Orson Welles, Truffaut, or Godard; and 'Paper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzan-lori-parks/i-love-beautiful-black-and-white-movies-anything-bette-davis/) [Suzan-Lori Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) [Explore all 30 Suzan-Lori Parks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzan-lori-parks/) ## More Drama quotes > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. 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