Swearing Onstage

I like to swear—a lot.

But it’s always tricky having characters swear.  It’s definitely easier than it must have been years ago, because people are just more used to it, but it’s still tricky.

The minute you put the “F” word in a play, you risk a certain alienation.  Often times I write the word, and then when I hear it out loud for the first time, I end up taking it out.  More than anything else you do onstage, you have to earn the right to swear.  Either by showing that it’s the absolute truth of your characters, or that the situation calls for nothing else.

In life, you can swear just because you feel like it, but onstage it has to count.