Mainstream American playwriting is driven by the will to explain. Every effect has its causes, and dramatic action is often merely a process of meting them out. By the end of typical contemporary works of psychological naturalism, we come fully to understand why the characters have committed some less than honorable acts, and thus we sympathize with and possibly even excuse them. The imperative of our national dramaturgy remains that holy of hoary holies: motivation. Playwrights must deploy it, actors depict it, and audiences detect it in order for all to feel fulfilled in the... More >>>