This process has also involved slowing down and refusing a certain amount of labor that has been imposed upon me as a Black woman in this country.

There are many times for three months in a row I wrote every day, but there are also many times for three months in a row I didn't write a word. What I found is I make an appointment with myself and I don't look at each day, I look at the calendar ahead.

Generally, my hours are during the first part of the day; hardly ever in the evening. The hours nearer noon, the zenith of the day, are good for working.

It is possible to be a good scientist, a good mother and have a family and even bake a cake.

But when you say to someone, “I don't understand this and I'm asking your advice because you're better at it than me,” by doing that and involving people and making the film truly a collaborative process, you get much better results. You get a better film and you get happier people and get an atmosphere on the set that is truly creative.

No, I would never say that. I would never say that I do something just in order to put a fresh spin on it or do something different with it. I am drawn to certain plays because I think there’s something about them in the story that I want to tell, or that I think is relevant—something that strikes me. With Macbeth, I’m not doing this because I want to do a crazy interpretation or production.

It’s killing the planet. It’s killing you. It’s killing all of us. Walk away.

The Cumming fragrance line. the soap, Cumming in a bar (still available at alancumming.com) is my favorite ever pun on my name.

A couple of summers ago, walking through a forest illuminated by fireflies, with my man and our dogs.

I think the notion of a bucket list is kind of wrong, actually. If you want to do something, go and do it. Don't put it on a list and think, I want to do this before I die. What if you die tomorrow? Just go and do the things. Seize the day. A couple of years ago, I decided I'd like to do a dance piece, and I ended up doing this one-man dance-theater piece about (Scottish poet) Robert Burns. I just wanted to use my body in a different way.