Tom Stoppard Quotes

Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
English Dramatist
Born: Jul 3, 1937
Life Me People Think Writing You
Related authors: Aphra Behn Christopher Marlowe Harold Pinter John Ciardi John Heywood Thomas Dekker Thomas Holcroft William Shakespeare
I like the notion of theater as recreational. Tom Stoppard
Recreational Like Theater Notion
I feel that when I began writing, I had a need to know more about the play before I got into it. I think that's the way I was thinking. But my actual experience is that the best way to find out what the structure is, is by writing the play out laterally. You just have got to be brave enough to start without knowing where you are going. Tom Stoppard
Best You Experience Writing Be Brave Before Think Thinking Enough I Think Way Out Find I Feel Best Way About Structure More Had Feel Know Knowing Without Got Began Brave Going Just Where Actual Play Actual Experience Start Need
With plays that require any kind of reading program, I'm reading for a couple of years before using the material. Tom Stoppard
Reading Before Kind Couple Material Years Any Require Using Program Plays
I was interested by the idea that artists working in a totalitarian dictatorship or tsarist autocracy are secretly and slightly shamefully envied by artists who work in freedom. They have the gratification of intense interest: the authorities want to put them in jail, while there are younger readers for whom what they write is pure oxygen. Tom Stoppard
Work Freedom Dictatorship Pure Secretly Slightly Totalitarian Write Envied Put Idea Readers Authorities Intense Jail Artists Autocracy Oxygen Want While Interest Interested Them Younger Working Who Gratification Whom
When I was 20, the idea of having a play on anywhere was just beyond my dreams. Tom Stoppard
Dreams Having Idea Beyond Just Anywhere Play
I've voted in every election - not always for the same political party and never with any degree of enthusiasm. Tom Stoppard
Political Election Degree Enthusiasm Party Every Never Voted Always Political Party Same Any
Revolution is a trivial shift in the emphasis of suffering. Tom Stoppard
Suffering Revolution Trivial Emphasis Shift
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 film work as a continuation of writing for theatre. It is more of an interruption of the writing process. Tom Stoppard
Work Myself Theatre People Writing Other Consider See More Writes Generally Writing Process Continuation Process Scripts Who Novels Film Based Interruption
People think I'm very nice, you know. And I'm not as nice as they think. Tom Stoppard
You People Nice Think Know Very
I like plays where people talk a lot. Conversation is sustained. Argument is sustained. Tom Stoppard
Conversation People Argument Like Talk Lot Where Sustained Plays
A 'human right' is, by definition, timeless. It cannot adhere to some societies and not others, at some times and not at other times. Tom Stoppard
Other Others Adhere Definition Some Timeless Times Human Cannot Human Right Right Societies
I don't know that I want to share all my most intimate secrets. Tom Stoppard
Intimate Secrets Share Know Most Want
I think that the present is worth attention, one shouldn't sacrifice it to future conceptions of, of this future or that future. Tom Stoppard
Future Worth Sacrifice Think I Think Attention Present
Possibly because I did start off as a journalist, my starting point has always been that you've got to keep an audience with you. Whatever you're doing, you always want a script to be a page-turner. It's very important never, ever, to feel above that. Tom Stoppard
You Journalist Important Whatever Possibly Above Point Never Feel Because Audience Always Got Doing Been Off Very Did Want Script Keep Ever Start Starting Starting Point
My family was in Singapore when the Japanese War started. We were in Singapore at the time of Pearl Harbor, and by the beginning of 1942, the Japanese invasion of Burma and Singapore had started. Tom Stoppard
War Time Family Beginning Invasion Had Singapore Were Burma Japanese Harbor Pearl Pearl Harbor Started
From as long as, literally as far back as I can remember I've liked puns, word jokes, I can literally recall looking at a comic at the age of six or seven and I remember what I enjoyed and what it was precisely and how the joke worked. Tom Stoppard
Jokes Age Remember Word Long Joke Looking Back Seven I Can Puns I Remember Liked Comic How Precisely Six Literally Far Worked Recall Enjoyed
To be 64 is appalling, so what does it matter being 65? Tom Stoppard
Matter Does Being Appalling
If Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, it would have changed the history of music and of aviation. Tom Stoppard
Music History Age Changed Would Had Been Beethoven The History Of Crash Plane Plane Crash Aviation
Theatre probably originated without texts, but by the time we get to the classical Greek period, theatre has become text-based. Tom Stoppard
Time Theatre Become Classical Period Without Texts Greek Get Originated By The Time
When I was a reporter in Bristol, which I was between the years 1954 and 1960, the newspaper would get tickets for whoever showed up to play a gig at the big hall down the road, so I saw some wonderful people. The Everly Brothers, for example. Tom Stoppard
People Wonderful Example Big Down Saw Gig Would Some Brothers Road Between For Example Tickets Hall Years Up Wonderful People Get Reporter Which Newspaper Down The Road Whoever Play Bristol
Everybody I know is writing plays twice a year. It's sort of making me feel I am not up to much. Tom Stoppard
Me Writing I Am Year Everybody Feel Know Sort Making Am Up Much Twice Plays
What Tolstoy is on about is that carnal love is not a good idea. Tom Stoppard
Love Good Love Is Carnal About Idea Tolstoy Good Idea
You are the plays you write. How on earth could you write them otherwise? They're projections of your own predilections. Tom Stoppard
You Own Otherwise Earth Could Write How Them Your Plays
If you don't know what is being said, the rest of the actor's work is wasted. Tom Stoppard
Work You Rest Know Said Being Actor Wasted
Theater is still a medium which attracts young writers. You'd think that it would be all over by now, with television and film. But it's not. Tom Stoppard
You Young Think Medium Television Would Would-Be Writers Over Attracts Still Which Theater Young Writers Film Now
I don't keep a diary and I throw away nearly all the paper I might have kept. I don't keep an archive. There's something worrying about my make-up that I try to leave no trace of myself apart from my plays. Tom Stoppard
Myself Try Worrying Paper About Something Throw Trace Leave Diary Apart Might Keep Away Nearly Kept Plays
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