Stephen Karam

“In terms of smaller changes over time, I think good plays are like poems. Every syllable counts. So I wrestle with word choice, rhythm in final drafts.”

“'The Cherry Orchard' is a masterpiece, and there can never be too many adaptations.”

“With 'The Humans,' I've found that because it's related to very familiar forms - the family play and the thriller, almost a genre-collison play - some people want it to be one or the other. Either less dark and more of a family comedy or a full-fledged thriller with blood and ghosts jumping out of closets. Everyone's taste is different.”

“Under Todd Haimes' leadership, Roundabout created a black-box theater whose sole mission was to house premieres by writers who are just starting out and have zero name recognition.”

“I didn't quite fit in in any particular, specific way. I was a gay teenager who was into drama.”

“Until I have a family or a mortgage, I'm trying to keep my lifestyle simple and my apartment affordable so that I can continue to focus on theater. That's as good as it gets for me.”

“I was the worst-dressed person in Scranton. I was a total nerd. Obviously, I got picked on, but I was also able to find my own cluster of friends, and I think when that happens, you get by just fine.”

“I think the best directors aren't afraid to ask questions.”

“I like going absurd pretty quickly. You don't waste any time when you're doing theater of the ridiculous.”

“When you're the artsy, weirdo, introverted outsider growing up, you don't fit into your community.”

“In writing 'The Humans,' I obsessed over the financial district and the architecture.”

“Everyone will always have ideas about how to make your work better. Everyone has advice about how to end your play differently. Start it differently. And it's not about right or wrong. At the end of the day, it's your baby, and you know what's best.”

“I think it's scary to be alive, but also exhilarating and joyful.”

“I like creating the illusion that suddenly I've just done five things at once.”

“I'm drawn to writers with skill sets I don't have.”

“The best thing about being nominated in a category like best new play is realizing there were enough new plays to make a category.”

“The human condition is endlessly fascinating to me, and the existential horrors of life are what drive our imaginations and theater in general.”

“If there's ever a moment when I am an Anglophile, it's when I see so many theatres in this country that have what I would call federal funding.”

“I think being gay has resulted in gay characters standing front and center in all of my work.”

“To me, 'Glee' is totally fantastic.”