David mamet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

David mamet - Essay Example Some of the writings that are believed to have been influenced by the turmoil in Mamet’s childhood include the play The Old Neighborhood, which is about childhood abuse and resentment, and The Cryptogram, which is about a young boy whose parents separated (â€Å"David Mamet,† Theater Database). His interests in theater began when he was just a teenager. It was at Hull House Theater and at Second City, the famous and rich Chicago improvisational sites at the time, where Mamet worked and gained influence in his language and style of writing. It was also at this time that Mamet’s stepfather inflicted physical and psychological abuse on the Mamet family and thus the theater became for Mamet a sort of catharsis and one way by which he could forget domestic problems (â€Å"Notable Playwrights†). As a young boy, Mamet also acted in television shows and this was made possible by the director of broadcasting for the Chicago Board of Rabbis who happened to be his uncle (â€Å"Notable Playwrights†). After majoring in theater and literature in Goddard College in Vermont, he started getting famous. In fact, his first play Camel was written as a college thesis requirement at graduation and was staged in 1968. The mid-1970’s was, nevertheless, the best time of his career for it was during this time that he was able to write the most number of theatrical masterpieces, among which were the plays Sexual Perversity in Chicago and American Buffalo. Overall, Mamet has written more than 30 plays, numerous sketches, poems, essays, children’s plays, a number of Chekov’s adaptations, a book about directing a film, and over a dozen screenplays (â€Å"Notable Playwrights†). In fact, every piece of work by David Mamet was an achievement, except perhaps for the screenplay for The Postman Always Rings Twice, which was considered his â€Å"least successful effort† (â€Å"David Mamet Biography†). Among his