|
Born on November 30, 1947 in Flossmoor, Illinois, David Mamet
studied at Goddard College in Vermont and at the Neighborhood
Playhouse School of Theater in New York before venturing into
the professional world of the Theatre. He began his career as
an actor and director before achieving success in 1976 with three
Off-Off Broadway plays, The Duck Variations, Sexual
Perversity in Chicago, and American Buffalo.
The most recognized element of Mamet's style is his sparse,
clipped dialogue. Although reminiscent of such playwrights as
Harold Pinter and Samuel
Beckett, Mamet's dialogue is so unique that it has become
known as "Mametspeak". His language is not so much
"naturalistic" as it is a poetic impression of streetwise
jargon. Other signature elements of Mamet's style include minimalism
and a lack of stage directions.
Noted for his strong male characters, Mamet's plays often
deal with the decline of morality in a world which has become
an emotional and spiritual wasteland. In 1984, he was awarded
the Pulitzer Prize for Glengarry Glen Ross which recreated
the atmosphere of a gritty Chicago real estate office in which
Levine, an aging salesman, is about to be sacked. He followed
up in 1988 with Speed the Plow which exposes the dirty
underside of another undustry--show business. Perhaps his most
controversial play, however, came in 1992 with Oleanna,
a two-character drama involving charges of sexual harassment
between a male professor and one of his female students.
In 1981, Mamet turned his attention to screenwriting and made
an impressive debut with his first screenplay, The Postman
Always Rings Twice, which he adapted from the novel by James
Cain. He has since turned out a number of critically acclaimed
screenplays including The Verdict (1982), The Untouchables
(1987), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) and Wag the Dog
(1998) and is now considered to be among the industry's finest
craftsmen.
Mamet has taught at Goddard College, the Yale Drama School
and New York University. His awards include the Joseph Jefferson
Award, 1974; Obie Award, 1976, 1983; New York Drama Critics Circle
Award, 1977, 1984; Outer Circle Award, 1978; Society of West
End Theatre Award, 1983; Pulitzer Prize, 1984; Dramatists Guild
Hall-Warriner Award, 1984; American Academy Award, 1986; Tony
Award, 1987.
|