1. ALTOONA is a recent play you’ve submitted to The Baltimore Playwrights Festival. What is it about?
ALTOONA is about a diverse group on a cross country trip who are driven by a Latina who plays saxophone, each seeking a hunk of the American Dream.
2. Did you have a plan in place before you began writing ALTOONA—number of scenes, characters, subplot, etc? Is this your usual approach to writing?
I start with an idea of, an image of the characters; in this instance to eschew traditional forms, conjuring a Dreamscape wherein the characters initially appear in one reality, then into alternative realities, becoming archetypes.
3. When you get stuck while writing a play, what gets you unstuck?
Encouragement from colleagues and theatres gets me unstuck; also when I feel I may have something unique to say.
4. What are you working on now?
Still working on ALTOONA, hoping for a workshop production; also another play, BLONDE ON BLONDE, about a 67 year old Marilyn Monroe, still somewhat marilynesque, but radicalized after knocking around the country suffering from a 30 year drug induced amnesia.
5. Tell us about yourself.
Here are the opening lines of a longer poem, CONFESSIONS OF A KNUCKLEBALLER
I pitched baseball on the Elipse;
Scrubbed decks on Merchant ships.
Played ball at Ebbets Field.
Been different things to different people,
At different times.
Sometimes I confuse myself.
6. What is coming up next for you?
Perhaps an existential moment or two.