The Past

A play never begins with an idea. Instead, it is the result of a perfect blend of life, theater, and things we want to achieve—or fail to achieve. During rehearsals for Don DeLillo's Players, Mao II, and The Names, I wondered what it would be like to stage a classic like The Seagull and, after the scene in which Treplev's play is performed, have the production culminate in destruction and the annihilation of its characters—either through an attac...