I have to work really hard, eight shows a week, to get a nice check as an actor. But when I write a play, and it's a - knock wood - hit, the checks come in for many years.

• Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate.
• Also, if you want to reach people, theatre is not always the best way to do it.
• My play Safe Sex was picked apart because critics thought it was untrue. It was a play in which no one had AIDS, but the characters talked about how it was going to change their lives.
• What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don't change.
• In Torch Song, I did that character almost non-stop from 1978 until I made the movie in 1987. Then I had some failure, which also colors how you react to doing other things.
• My father was brought up in an orphanage in the Catskills. He was a factory worker. And because his family wasn't there for him, family was everything. We could disagree inside the house, but outside the house it was us against the world. So when I became a drag actor, he looked sideways but said okay.
• I actually pray everyday, but I don't believe in God.
• I do believe we're all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.
• The great thing about suicide is that it's not one of those things you have to do now or you lose your chance. I mean, you can always do it later.
• I got a lovely check today from being a writer that I earned by sitting at home. That's rewarding.