I write plays because it is an art form that so often leads to wealth and fame.

A moment passes

Let’s try that one more time, actually. I write plays because theater is that rare place where people take center stage. You see, my plays have yet to involve alien invasions or super hero battles (belated spoiler alert). I gravitate towards characters that feel real. I love stories with conversations, conflict, and comedy that seem strangely familiar. Maybe the story starts at a diner or a career fair or a kitchen table, but – wherever it starts – you get the sense that you have been there before. The biggest question is simply what will happen this time.

When I stare at that familiar blank page (okay, screen), it almost always starts with a person. Who is she? Where is she? What does she want? I start with people rather than plot. Everything flows from that starting point, that person. I will admit that person often seems to be strangely familiar. When I was a social worker working in substance abuse treatment, I wrote about addicts. When I was a recruiter, I wrote about job searchers. Write what you know, right? Perhaps that’s why my characters find humor where it’s least expected too. As an audience member and actor, I want to see where characters will take me. As a writer, that same curiosity drives my creative process.

I doubt that I’ll start writing about zombie apocalypses anytime soon (okay, never say never), but I know that the people will move my plots, regardless…not the other way around. When the effects stop and the lights fade, it is our own voices that linger longest.