Proof author David Auburn cites the illustrious playwright, David Mamet, as one of his influences. Proof is indeed replete with Mamet-like dialogue. Auburn shares some of David Mamet's gift for making his dialogue sound natural, not scripted. Just as in Mamet's work, Auburn's characters frequently interrupt each other. They don't explain what they mean. Their thought process is not spelled out to the audience; rather, the audience must read between the lines to guess at the characters' motives.