WHAT CATS, COURTIERS, BUSINESS EXECUTIVES AND ACTORS HAVE IN COMMON.

WHAT CATS, COURTIERS, BUSINESS EXECUTIVES AND ACTORS HAVE IN COMMON. Our cats seem to get along just fine when they are not in the same room with us. I want to focus on only two paragraphs in this article by David Mamet, the passage that begins: “Take away the director from the staged play and what do you get? Usually a diminution of strife, a shorter rehearsal period, and a better production.” The reason? The director’s presence “impels the actors to direct (and manufacture) claims designed to appeal to Authority—that is, to set aside the original goal (staging a play for the audience) and indulge in politics….” Mamet says that when people don’t have an authority figure, they find a way of working things out. Maureen Dowd makes a similar point about the competition between Al Gore and Hillary Clinton in the Clinton White House “There’s no love between [Gore] and Hillary,” said one former Clintonista. “It was like Mitterrand with his wife and girlfriend. They were always competing for the affection of the big guy.”