Books & Writers: Novelists, Screenwriters, Poets, Journalists, Playwrights, Non-fiction Writers & Showrunners Talk Writing, Creativity & The Creative Process · Novelists, Screenwriters, Poets, Playwrights, Non-fiction Writers, Journalists & Showrunners Talk Writing - Creative Process Original Series

SHARON LAWRENCE on Acting, Activism & The Art of Transformation

·1 hr 3 min·4 clips

Lawrence says her Elektra role taught her that acting is "transforming" and requires sacrifice.

1. Books & Writers: Sharon Lawrence on Acting, Activism & the Art of Transformation centers on acting, live theatre, journalism, and public life. 2. Sharon Lawrence, an actress known for NYPD Blue and The Shot, joins the conversation with a background in theatre, television, and journalism. 3. The episode asks how a performer stays present when a script is cold, a stage is live, and politics keeps changing. 4. Lawrence says White Rabbit, Red Rabbit works because the actor receives the script without rehearsal and must respond in real time. 5. She names Nassim Soleimanpour as an Iranian writer and dissident who could not leave his country for many years. 6. Lawrence describes the play as structured to support the artist while requiring freedom, attention, and audience participation. 7. She argues that theatre demands full focus, comparing the stage to a sacred space where phones break the bond. 8. Lawrence revisits David Milch's writing on NYPD Blue and says his language "defines character." 9. She points to Sipowicz, Sylvia, and the courtroom introduction that helped create chemistry between Dennis and Lawrence's character. 10. She connects that writing to David Milch's use of malaprops, mentors, and the humanizing of a flawed man with addictions. 11. Lawrence says Noel Coward, Shakespeare, and Caryl Churchill teach actors cadence, musicality, and gender play. 12. She recalls seeing Cloud Nine in college and says the production "blew my mind open" with men playing women and women playing men. 13. Lawrence recommends small theatres because close-up performance can excite actors and audiences to learn the craft. 14. She discusses improv through Viola Spolin, Alan Alda, and Clear and Vivid as a way to communicate better. 15. Lawrence cites David Milch lectures on YouTube and says his writing carries Kierkegaard, mentors, and literary history. 16. She extends that idea to artists, underrepresented cultures, NEA grants, board work, and private support for theatres. 17. The conversation feels like an interview built from long answers, direct examples, and frequent references to specific plays and writers. 18. Lawrence's tone shifts between technical acting advice, media criticism, and personal memory from UNC Chapel Hill, Paris, and Broadway. 19. Best for listeners interested in acting craft, theatre history, and media literacy. 20. Skip it if you want light celebrity anecdotes without politics or process.

As heard by us

An acting conversation that treats transformation as craft, discipline, and responsibility.

The conversation treats acting as transformation rather than self-display, and it stays with the practical question of how that work actually happens.

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Why you'd press play

Press play if you want acting advice that opens into a wider argument about responsibility.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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