My work feels different because it comes with a residue of my own soul smeared on the page. Writing is a personal, even spiritual activity for me. Reading my plays offers a sense of shared responsibility for the encounter – the world – that we are creating together.

Instead of starting from a theoretical argument or political position, my stories are barely-masked expressions of a man, mid-journey, (dad, artist, middling Christian, minor Capitalist) grappling with his own hopes and fears. At stake is my “place” in the world – both in terms of a rapidly shifting American landscape, and in the eyes and hearts of people I know and love. Any moral or political statements that may come out are not absolutes or conclusions, as much as they are humble realizations, grounded in the lives of characters working their way through the web of the world.

With THE SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY (and other plays) I recognize that I am examining my own position in a complicated chain. I am a father, and I am a son. I have power and authority, and I am also the product of forces beyond my control. What have I inherited, both in terms of tradition, faith, culture, and material goods? What legacy am I leaving for my son? What lessons am I teaching him by my own example? What hidden expectations do I have for him in his own life’s work? All these seem like worthwhile questions, and to your point, they speak much more about personal stakes, than theoretical takes on hot topic events.