David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwangis a Tony Award-winning American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPlaywright
Date of Birth11 August 1957
CountryUnited States of America
perfect toilets kind
I visited a new cultural center in Shanghai in 2005 that was pretty much perfect, except for the really badly translated Chinglish signs: a handicapped restroom that said Deformed Mans Toilet, that kind of thing.
writing character play
Yes, I am one of those people who feels that most of my work is adaptation of one sort or another. For me, it's a way to jump-start the engine. For example, some people use the technique of basing a character on a friend. They start writing with his or her voice, then at a certain point, the character takes off on his or her own. It probably no longer resembles the model, but it helped the author to get going. I find that's true of form, too. For every play I've written, I know what play I was trying to imitate. That helps me get going.
children memories grandmother
Originally the structure was . . . a modern narrator who would appear intermittently and talk about his memories of his grandmother, which would then be juxtaposed against scenes from the past. But the stories from the past were always more interesting that the things in the present. I find this almost endemic to modern plays that veer between past and present. . . . So as we've gone on developing GOLDEN CHILD, the scenes from the past have become more dominant, and all that remains of the present are these two little bookends that frame the action.
religious fall acceptance
I now know that to do a worthwhile family history I must interpret the past without falling into either demonizing or unquestioning acceptance. . . . As a playwright, what I object to right now is any form of fundamentalism, whether it's nationalistic, religious or ethnic. . . . I think it is ridiculous - and fundamentalist, by the way - to say that I am not changed by the culture around me.
beautiful girl queens
Consider it this way: what would you say if a blond homecoming queen fell in love with a short Japanese businessman? He treats her cruelly, then goes home for three years, during which time she prays to his picture and turns down marriage from a young Kennedy. Then, when she learns he has remarried, she kills herself. Now I believe you should consider this girl to be a deranged idiot, correct? But because it's an Oriental who kills herself for a Westerner–ah!–you find it beautiful.
reality differences knowing
Tonight, I've finally learned to tell fantasy from reality. And, knowing the difference, I choose fantasy.
stupid time-flies being-stupid
Time flies when you’re being stupid.
air listening world
This is the ultimate cruelty, isn't it? That I can talk and talk and to anyone listening, it's only air--too rich a diet to be swallowed by a mundane world.
school guarantees wells
Well, there's no guarantee of failure in life like happiness in high school.
honor dishonor
Death with honor is better than life... life with dishonor.
believe thinking want
The West believes the East, deep down, wants to be dominated, because a woman can’t think for herself
reason-why silent reason
There's a reason why the form was originally silent
hate missing sometimes
Sometimes I hate you, sometimes I hate myself, but always I miss you
deal examine interact sufficient time
I'm interested in internationalism. It's the new multiculturalism. How we deal with each other isn't sufficient any more. It's about time we examine how we interact with the rest of the world we live in.