Jessica Hagedorn Quotes

I'm preparing for a multimedia theater piece, Airport Music, that's coming up in New York City.

My identity is linked to my grandmother, who's pure Filipino, as pure as you can probably get. And that shaped my imagination. So that's how I identify.

I don't believe in sampling some Tibetan music just to make it sound groovy, but you do your homework, you understand what you're doing with it.

Don't say Fili, sister. Say Pili. In Tagalog, pili means to choose. Pino means fine. Pilipino equals 'fine choice.

Adaptability is the simple secret of survival.

Everything matters. Time is precious.

Hybridity keeps me from being rigid about most things. It has taught me to appreciate the contradictions in the world and in my life. I scavenge from the best.

Life is not simple, and people can't be boxed into being either heroes or villains.

I love writing dialogue, and I think a lot of my writing is visual and very cinematic.

[On The Philippines:] ... eighty dialects and languages are spoken; we are a fragmented nation of loyal believers, divided by blood feuds and controlled by the Church.

I'm an underdog person, so I align myself with those who seem to be not considered valuable in polite society.

Becoming a mother has helped make me a tougher, stronger writer.

It's not just NYU. There are days when I feel like I'm stranded in some upscale mall in Pasadena. Don't even get me started on the insidious transformation of Bleecker Street!

I think for a lot of so-called post-colonial peoples, there's a feeling of not being quite legitimate, of not being pure enough.

There is real beauty in my eyes when I lose my mind.

I also identify as a Latin person, a person who has Latin blood.

There are certain regions in the country where the indigenous people eat dogs.

Music is very influential to my writing, as are theater and film.

The punk scene in NY was so gritty and nihilistic & I was like ooh I want to do that