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Of particular note are William H. Macy and Deborah Eisenstadt who spoke on different occasions to the David Mamet Society. Courtney B. Vance, who played Paul in Six Degrees and created Cory in Fences, was generous with his time in speaking with me about Guare and Wilson. So too was Amy Morton, actor and director at Steppenwolf, in sharing her insights into Mamet in performance. In addition, colleagues from the David Mamet Society, particularly founder Leslie Kane, Ira Nadel, Bob Vorlicky, and Steven Price have at various times been inspirational in sharing work and insights. I am also indebted to set designer Antje Ellermann who inspired me with her models of a fractured stage for the production of Six Degrees of Separation at Williamstown Theatre Festival directed by Anne Kauffman in the summer of 2010. I am grateful for her permission to use them for the cover design.
More directly, my family was heroic in supporting me. My brother and sister put up with my seeming visits to see them in New York—and my absence to go to Lincoln Center for research and plays too often. I also owe the family a debt for helping me through the final phases, brother John, Geoff and Alisha, Ellen, MJ, and Jeremy in reading the chapters to help me in a quest for clarity. That this was even a goal is most due to Jan who has not only helped me through every phase of research for these chapters, but put up with endless conversations, readings, and revisions without demur, despite my grumblings and grousing at her well-argued attempts to keep me grounded. It is to her that I dedicate this book.