The Beginning - The Drive Behind the Passion

Born November 30, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois, though some say Flossmer, to Bernard an attorney and Lenore a teacher. Mamet has a sister Lynn and a half brother Tony. Married twice, once to Lindsey Crouse, they have two daughters and currently to Rebecca Pidgeon, they have a daughter and a son. He attended the Progressive Francis W. Parker School and Goddard College in Plainfield Vermont. Though educated he didn’t get his drive or passion to write through school, he developed that at an early age through his childhood. Mamet’s parents split and Mamet and his sister lived with their Mother and Step-Father till Mamet couldn’t stand it anymore and finally moved back in with his Father. David and Lynn both describe there childhood as not normal, “There was a lot of violence, but the greatest violence was emotional” (Lynn Mamet, Nadel,4/27/10). Lynn best describes how and where the passion both her and David have for writing came from, “In dealing with our demons, we have identified different people as the devil and as a result we will never run out of stories. The very thing that could have destroyed us and driven us to silence ultimately led us to open our veins on white bond and make a living”(Nadel 4/27/10). Which is precisely what Mamet has done over the course of his career including a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for his original play Glengarry Glen Ross, along with many other awards and several nominations.

Mamet is an author, essayist, playwright and screenwriter often referred to as the quintessential American writer. Mamet’s style of writing dialogue, marked by a cynical, street-smart edge, precisely crafted for effect is so distinctive that it came to be known as “Mamet Speak”(Krasner p.410). One Classic instance of Mamet’s dialogue style can be found in Glengarry Glen Ross. While attending Goddard one of Mamet’s professors, Sanford Meisner, taught the emphasis on practical, onward techniques that influenced Mamet’s philosophy of acting and writing. Critics have said…Mamet’s work generally critiques American Society and that Mamet is deeply pessimistic about the dreadful state of economic, social and human relationships…”I write about what I think is missing from our society…and that’s communication on a basic level (Mamet, Klinkowitz, Wallace pg. 3042) The brilliant rendering of callousness and selfishness, of failed communication, manipulations and the basis venality of people, makes his work so compelling (Klinkowitz, Wallace pg. 3042).


Sources:

Nadel, Ira Bruce, “David Mamet: A Life in the Theatre, New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2008, Tarrant County College Library, Fort Worth, Texas, 4/27/10).

David Krasner, A Companion to Twentieth-Century American Drama, Blackwell Publishing, 2005, p.410

Klinkowitz, Wallace, The Norton anthology American Literature, New York, pg. 3042