Artistic Statement

Artistic Statement

I have always been a profoundly inspired person. I have always been enthralled by my imagination. It is possible to be captivated by one's imagination when it goes beyond conscious invention and reaches into the depths of the self where the unknown can be found. This is why I have always been interested in visionaries and shamans. The shaman is the great explorer of the soul and channels that which is greater than himself. Much of Western theater has been traced to the shaman. Western theater is based on the Greek worship of Dionysus, the god of theater and religious ecstasy. The shamanic nature of Dionysus is revealed in The Bacchae by Euripides as discussed in the book The Greeks and the Irrational by Eric R. Dodds.

My plays are written to tell the story of visionaries, artists who are driven to bring great beauty into the world. I intend to tell the tragedy of the lost dreamers who ventured too far into the depths of the psyche.

I have studied Jungian depth psychology and shamanism extensively, but not necessarily in relation to the performing arts. As a creative writer I am also focused on the daunting task of the creator. A playwright must not come to the theater as a beggar, asking to be given his role as writer. The playwright must bring wonder to the theater. The playwright must possess all the wonder of what lies beyond the conscious imagination and create a world on stage touched by the divine.