“The main question in drama, the way I was taught, is always, 'What does the protagonist want?' That's what drama is. It comes down to that. It's not about theme, it's not about ideas, it's not about setting, but what the protagonist wants.”

American playwright, author, and filmmaker

David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won the Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for Glengarry Glen Ross in 1983 and Speed-the-Plow in 1988. He first drew wide critical attention in the 1970s with three off-Broadway plays, The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo. Later, Race opened on Broadway in 2009, and The Penitent was previewed off-Broadway in 2017. His work is closely associated with the stage, and with screen writing and film.