I cannot speak for an entire country, culture, or an age… I can only speak to what I have lived and been touched by in my life. All that has imprinted itself upon my soul is the inspiration for my work as I struggle to give my voice to this moment.
My own history is rich with drama and that is why, I think, I am best suited to writing for the Theater. Before the age of two I had spent time in Chicago, Des Moines, Israel, and Atlanta. Those travels and the circumstances that surrounded them have colored the rest of my life with a wanderlust and personal aesthetic that closely resembles a combination of early Pricilla Presley, Jackie-O, and Paloma Picasso, which makes New York my home. The work I write is infused with movement, the blending of places and people, and a longing for beauty. In Light of Night Isabel and Stephanie both yearn for a life of freedom, but must come to terms with who they are to win that freedom.
Besides movement between locations I also am firmly placed in the world Dance, and this makes its way into all of my work in various forms. As an artist I draw upon movement vocabulary from Classical Ballet, Modern (specifically Grahame, Falco, and Cunningham), Martial Arts (Kata/Forms and Sparing), Pedestrian Gestures, and Flamenco. This is sometimes a conscious process and other times it is a bleeding of emotion and theory like that of Duende into my work. In Tiene Duende (It Has Soul) Maria struggles with mastering the technical steps of Flamenco, but must ultimately learn that beyond her heritage and technique she must allow the spirit of Duende to consume her before she will ever move an audience with her dancing. Only some of my work uses Dance as a mode of storytelling, but everything I write is, at its best, choreography performed with
words.
words.
My plays vary in theme and subject matter, but they all explore making a simple black and white world more gray and often… more red than gray. I write about sexuality, morality, cultural identity, and personal liberation. As a Latin, Israeli, Welsh, American I take on painfully weighty issues using as much poetic humor as I can grab to lift the load. In my play, The Wicked Son we follow a family as they circle the problems of modern Jewish life in America and the Middle East.
I don't always find the perfect words, and I struggle with writing as much as I struggle with life. As a playwright, I want to give people a sense that while each of us is on a difficult journey in a world that breaks as many rules as it claims… We can create beauty, kindness, and some company.
I don't always find the perfect words, and I struggle with writing as much as I struggle with life. As a playwright, I want to give people a sense that while each of us is on a difficult journey in a world that breaks as many rules as it claims… We can create beauty, kindness, and some company.