Background for SPEED-THE-PLOW

PLACE:

ONE ~ Gould's office in Los Angeles, morning
TWO ~ His home, that evening
THREE ~ His office, the next morning

Drama, and particularly occupational drama, is a perfect reiteration of the American Dilemma. Democracy, we are told, is the worst system, aside from all other systems; and free enterprise is criminal exploitation of the needy - save when it supplies our cars, homes, wages and food. We'd all like to be good and do well, but we've all got to bring home the bacon.
In short, it's a cruel and interesting world; and, as Americans, we revel in the how-to of it all.
Our American Drama is the drama of the workplace. It is there that we live our lives, and makes our closest friends, We are a nation of workers. We live to work.
But aha, what is the difference between Work and Art, and how is one to draw the line? The is the essential question of Speed-the-Plow.
~  David Mamet

The title Speed-the-Plow is derived from an old English farming phrase which was used to confer good luck and a swift and profitable ploughing. Critics and scholars have speculated that Mamet might be comparing Hollywood's fast pace and profit motivations to this past, for in the play cold business fact wins out over artistry and idealism.