Introduction


David Mamet
Perhaps the most influential playwright in contemporary theater, David Mamet writes a style of dialogue so unique that it has its own name: “Mametspeak.” His plays are also characterized by quick, often vulgar characters and masculine themes. Mamet's first taste of the theater was as a busboy at The Second City in Chicago. Mamet was a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company and first gained success in 1976 with three plays: The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo. In 1984, Mamet won the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross. Mamet has also written screenplays, three novels, several nonfiction pieces, and children’s stories.

Essential Facts

  1. Mamet’s themes of machismo and male dominance have often incited controversy and drawn criticism from feminists.
  2. Mamet was nominated for an Academy Award in 1983 for his screenwriting work on The Verdict and again in 1998 for cowriting Wag the Dog.
  3. Despite Mamet’s penchant for foul language in his plays, most interviewers describe him as self-controlled and serious without resorting to swearing.
  4. Mamet was vocal about his dislike of the film Schindler’s List. He felt that it was exploitative.
  5. As of 2008, Mamet blogs at The Huffington Post (www.huffingtonpost.com).