Christopher Durang
Christopher Durang Trivia
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Trivia
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Christopher Durang's play, Sister Mary Ignacious Explains It All For You, inspired protests outside of theaters by Catholic groups who considered the play to be blasphemous and anti-Catholic.
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Christopher Durang was hired as an actor for a bit role in the movie The Secret of My Success. However, the director, Herbert Ross, quickly realized that he had a treasure on the set and hired Durang to write dialogue for the movie. Ross gives credit to Durang for most of the movie's funniest lines.
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Of all his plays, Durang claims that The Marriage of Bette and Boo is his favorite because it is semi-autobiographical. He likes that it takes the most painful moments of his childhood and makes them funny.
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Christopher Durang has been nominated for three Drama Desk Awards: one for Outstanding Actor in a Musical (1980 -- Das Lusitania Spongspiel), one for Outstanding New Play (1986 -- The Marriage of Bette & Boo), and one for Outstanding Play (1999 -- Betty's Summer Vacation).
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Since 1994, Christopher Durang has co-chaired the Julliard School's Playwriting Program.
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On May 5, 2006, Durang received the 12th annual Harvard Arts Medal.
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Christopher Durang claims that some of his primary influences are Noel Coward, Joe Orton, and Monty Python.
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Christopher Durang wrote his first play in the second grade. It was a spoof of I Love Lucy.
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In 2007, Durang was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama for Miss Witherspoon.
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Christopher Durang is openly gay.
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Quotes
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Christopher Durang: I've had some small acting parts in movies and I actually find it relaxing how little responsibility I have. I think to myself: "I'm just responsible for making my part in this scene work." It's very different than when I'm a writer, and if a scene isn't working, due to writing or directing or acting, I know I have to address it and do my best to make sure it's solved.
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Christopher Durang: I'm obviously not in a position to judge … I do like the fact that my plays are popular in high schools and colleges. I just find that very interesting that my plays are more popular in high schools and colleges than my New York mixed success might imply.
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Christopher Durang: I usually start with an idea and discover where it's heading as I go along... this has been giving me problems working in Hollywood, where they want you to pitch an idea with a conclusion before you start work.
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Christopher Durang: I like actors, and I have an almost embarrassing ability to laugh at my own work. In rehearsals I'll laugh my head off, but by about the third week I just can't laugh any more. I've learned that I have to warn the actors about that. Otherwise they'll think, oh, he doesn't like it anymore.
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Christopher Durang: I don't try to offend people. In life, I feel very diplomatic. Obviously in my writing, at least in some plays, I'm not.
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Christopher Durang: I only graduated to being an agnostic. My biggest problem with organized religion is that God has been imagined as a human being with emotions. I feel if you let go of that, then it's possible to see God as a force, to connect to him or her spiritually.
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brandi1leigh EDITOR
User Score: 41
