I reached playwriting after a decades-long journey as an actor, where I learned that everything in theatre starts with the Word. A new world is born in the mind of the writer, who then delivers it be cared for by other artists, trusting they will inhabit it with life and breath.

I am fascinated by the stories of people who make history. History is written by the dominant culture, the “winners,” but much gets lost in that retelling. I enjoy immersing myself in research and peeling back the layers of "conventional wisdom” to find what really lies underneath. Truth is stranger than fiction, I find: entire social, political and religious movements have transformed themselves over time in ways that their founding figures would not recognize. I poke around in these tensions, these gray areas, and find drama, color, and stories galore. My work explores these through characters who do not intend to ask Big Questions, yet find that even everyday conflicts lead to choices that say much about their foundational beliefs. They struggle, made uncomfortable by a world where quick fixes and get-rich-quick schemes are packaged and sold to terminal hopers. Where leaders are corrupted by quid pro quo tactics that keep them in power. Where even the most well-intentioned soul fails to see that all members of the human race are created equal.

Sometimes this examination of preconceptions destabilizes audiences. Often it surprises them. But it is easier to grapple with Big Questions of Past and Present when they are explored and embodied by engaging characters, real people who live and breathe—thoughtful men and strong women. All of my protagonists—whether they exist in history or contemporary culture—defy gender stereotypes, wielding power to subvert existing structures as they fight to create a more open, liberated world.