As a child, what did you want to become (profession-wise)?
An Earth specialist. I was interested as a child in the earth through its visible and mutable manifestations, which included trees, soil, water, the sun and moon. However, it soon became clear that human beings were deeply involved in this equation, and I decided to encompass that challenge.
In which town did you grow up?
I grew up in San Diego, California, and Guéret and Toulon, France. And we traveled by car and camped extensively in Mexico.
Do you think your background has influenced your current playwriting style? If so, what specific element in your background is most pervasive in influencing your current playwriting style?
The sun of Southern California combined with a border fence dividing the richest superpower from a poor country being exploited rather than celebrated for its brilliant culture, which was at my feet. A grandfather who fought in World War I and World War II, and offered me a cigarette as a young teen when we waited for a late train in a dusty French train station. Ancestors from Corsica who settled in Algeria, a country my mother loved and left.
The style is that of a search for a new world, and I always feel I’m on the verge of finding it — which brings me to my most recent play.
What inspires you in the job of being a playwright?
There is a nakedness in playwriting that, for me, comes from the personal. At the beginning, the process may be unspeakable, and talking out loud about it may kill it. It’s like a flower that my father saw on an island when he sailed across the Atlantic in a catamaran from France. It was a flower that only bloomed at night.
An important premise for me at the beginning of playwriting is to say, “I don’t know.” Writing a play is a discovery into the unknown. Context is also important. I have worked in the places I write about, including Cambodia, Bosnia, Turkey, Morocco, Guatemala, and Haiti, as well as in New Orleans during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Playwriting is about “following the trail,” which is never- ending for me. It’s a lifetime trail where each play connects to the next. It is to put oneself in the emotion of the characters, in their pain, and to honestly come out the other end. I am the child of parents from two other countries than the U.S., and I am an outsider. Freedom has come for me from having no ties to any one particular institution. But that also has a cost.
Trusted collaborators, mentoring, and audience out reach in which I build bridges between different types of participation are also part of my being a playwright.
In which way do you consider yourself an innovative creator?
What is thrilling in theater is what my friend and colleague Cynthia E. Cohen describes as a form that is “embodied, collaborative and aesthetic.” For every play, one must use these elements to be an innovative creator.
Do you have any other creative ambitions or dreams to which you aspire?
In my new play, currently entitled Action Hero, I portray a dream or hope of mine. That is what I aspire to. I can’t tell you what it is because I’ll give away the ending, but I hope you will come and see. It’s very exciting. I also want to make people laugh. I’ve been blessed by being surrounded by funny people. Of course, we all have, which is so lucky in life.