Nottage Lynn Quotes & Sayings

Each play I write has its own unique origin story. — Lynn Nottage

A compassionate government keeps faith with the trust of the people and cherishes the future of their children. Through compassion for the plight of one individual, government fulfills its purpose as the servant of all the people. — Lyndon B. Johnson

Just because it's a unique perspective doesn't mean it can't offer something universal. — Lynn Nottage

MAMA: My mother taught me that you
can follow behind everyone and walk in the dust, or you can walk ahead
through the unbroken thorny brush. You may get blood on your ankles, but
you arrive first and not covered in the residue of others. This land is fertile
and blessed in many regards, and the men ain't the only one's entitled to its
bounty. — Lynn Nottage

My interest in theatre and storytelling began in my mother's kitchen. It was a meeting place for my mother's large circle of friends. — Lynn Nottage

A captured pirate was brought before Alexander the Great. "How dare you molest the sea?" asked Alexander. "How dare you molest the whole world?" the pirate replied, and continued: "Because I do it with a little ship only, I am called a thief; you, doing it with a great navy, are called an emperor. — Noam Chomsky

I've been asked a lot why didn't 'Ruined' go to Broadway. It was the most successful play that Manhattan Theatre Club has ever had in that particular space, and yet we couldn't find a home on Broadway. — Lynn Nottage

I love you, Guy Boy Man. I love you in a very gay way ... "
"Jeez. I'm flattered, Honey. I'm sorry, though. I've chosen to be heterosexual ... Do you want to be my homoerotic sidekick? — James Marshall

If there's something you dream of achieving, it's better to give it a go than to regret not having tried. — Allan Walsh

I can't really tell how old I am, only that I'm too young to wonder if I asked the right questions in the past, and too old to wish the future will bring me all the answers. — Gabriel Ba

If you lead with the anger, it will turn off the audience. And what I want is the audience to engage with the material and to listen and then to ask questions. I think that 'Ruined' was very successful at doing that. — Lynn Nottage

I wanted to tell the story of these women and the war in the Congo and I couldn't find anything about them in the newspapers or in the library, so I felt I had to get on a plane and go to Africa and find the story myself. I felt there was a complete absence in the media of their narrative. It's very different now, but when I went in 2004 that was definitely the case. — Lynn Nottage

Plays are getting smaller and smaller, not because playwrights minds are shrinking but because of the economics. — Lynn Nottage

J. I. Packer has written, "The repentance that Christ requires of His people consists in a settled refusal to set any limit to the claims which He may make on their lives."17 — John F. MacArthur Jr.

I find my characters and stories in many varied places; sometimes they pop out of newspaper articles, obscure historical texts, lively dinner party conversations and some even crawl out of the dusty remote recesses of my imagination. — Lynn Nottage

We cannot change the wind, we can only adjust our sails. — Del Suggs

I need a release from whatever I'm writing. — Lynn Nottage

A play that forces us to question our moral responsibility to the victims of human rights abuse. — Lynn Nottage

The things I did on Saturday Night Live are going to stay as Saturday Night Live. You've never seen Eddie Murphy do a Gumby movie. There's a lot more new material inside of me. — Tracy Morgan

I feel it's my social responsibility to shine a light on areas that don't get seen. My personal feeling is that it's an artist's responsibility to be engaged with the culture. And when the culture is going through turmoil, I think an artist can't ignore that. I don't feel that every artist has to be politically engaged, but I can't imagine that you can be an active participant of this culture and not in some way reflect that in the work you are creating. — Lynn Nottage

I'm a schizophrenic writer. — Lynn Nottage

I always compare human beings to animals. It's a nice way to figure out who they are. — Vincent Cassel

I always thought of my mother as a warrior woman, and I became interested in pursuing stories of women who invent lives in order to survive. — Lynn Nottage

If you look at Paris, they didn't have guns and they were slaughtered. If you look at what happened in California, they didn't have guns, they were slaughtered. They could've protected themselves if they had guns. — Dalia Mogahed

I was repeatedly told that there isn't an African American woman who can open a show on Broadway. I said, 'Well, how do we know? How do we know if we don't do it?' I said, 'I think you're wrong.' — Lynn Nottage

African American women in particular have incredible buying power. Statistically, we go to the movies more than anyone. We have made Tyler Perry's career. His films open with $25 million almost consistently. — Lynn Nottage

You are what your deepest desire is. As is your desire, so is your intention. As is your intention, so is your will. As is your will, so is your deed. As is your deed, so is your destiny. — Upanishads

I can't quite remember the exact moment when I became obsessed with writing a play about the seemingly endless war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but I knew that I wanted to somehow tell the stories of the Congolese women caught in the cross-fire. — Lynn Nottage

I am interested in people living in the margins of society, and I do have a mission to tell the stories of women of colour in particular. I feel we've been present throughout history, but our voices have been neglected. — Lynn Nottage

As for suffering I do not wish even the slightest; as for happiness I am never satisfied. In this, there is no difference between others and me. Bless me so I may take joy in others' happiness. — Dalai Lama XIV

Riven and torn with cannon-shot, the trunks of the trees protruded bunches of splinters like hands, the fingers above the wound interlacing with those below. — Ambrose Bierce

In the business of war, the role of women is really to maintain normalcy and ensure that there is cultural continuity. — Lynn Nottage

There are so many remarkable playwrights working right now, that I see everything I can. Annie Baker is a genius, I'll see anything she writes. The same for Lynn Nottage, Cynthia Hopkins, and Lisa D'Amour. Anything they've got going on, I'll go see. — Lucy Alibar