I believe in the subtext of every line, the thoughtful pause and each step taken by every character is the playwright. Plays are not simply words spoken by characters on stage; they are worlds wherein characters walk and run, fight and dance, love and hate. A play creates a universe in which characters commit themselves to actions, and these actions land on other characters and audience members, creating pain or fear, dread or hope, love or sadness. Actions are a purge for characters and the playwright as well. My plays hopefully happen in the audience and have happened in my own history. I was the person left behind, without community or a sense of fairness. I'm the little girl who was assaulted, who still mourns her daddy after 49 years, who watched mental illness and addiction drown my loved ones. For me, writing plays is a way of exorcising my own demons.