SOURCE: Shepard, Sam, and Stephanie Coen. “Things at Stake Here.” American Theatre 13, no. 7 (September 1996): 28.

In the following interview, Shepard discusses Buried Child and his likes and dislikes among his various other works.

[Coen]: In a 1983 interview, you called Buried Child “verbose and overblown” and “unnecessarily complicated.” Is it still something of a problem play for you?

[Shepard]: No, not any more. I think I solved it. (Laughter.) But it was due to this production being able to cast a new light on it—and I guess, too, the amount of time between when it was originally written and the current production. It gives you a different perspective.

What changed the most for you?

There were a lot of things that were hanging, particularly with the character of Vince and his lostness and dismay at not being recognized. His predicament became clearer in retrospect. My emphasis was on the...