the unmentionables

I happen to be a pessimist. It’s my nature. I focus on what is UN-heroic and IG-noble in myself and am naturally suspicious of optimists and those who talk about the great things that we Americans are capable of.

I don’t feel like I’ve earned the right to be an optimist – it’s a luxury I can’t afford. Pessimism doesn’t mean defeatism. It just means looking realistically at what we DO, instead of what we like to SAY we do.

And the nice part is, we pessimists are rarely disappointed. Sometimes we’re even pleasantly surprised.

Bruce Norris blogging about «The Unmentionables» as excerpted in «Backstage», Steppenwolf’s house rag.

Norris is three for three with me: Purple Heart, Pain and the Itch, and now The Unmentionables -- all produced at Steppenwolf – all brought it home. (But then I like things dark.)

As they age I suspect they’ll get even better, the way Mamet productions have improved over time, as folks figure out the cadence, music and delivery that makes it juuuuuuuuust right.

(Guess I better take back all those things I said about Steppenwolf, huh?)