As I prepare to present Children of Light, on Dec 8 & 9 to the general public, my thoughts journey back to putting the pieces of this production together.   Every element, from the writing, to acting, directing, music, lights, sound, set design and construction – they all play an integral part and together, the puzzle is complete.

Arthur Penn, a prolific theatre and film director, had this to say about the theatre:

“The primary challenge should be to produce plays that reach out to people and change their lives. Theatre is not an event, like a hayride or a junior prom–it’s an artistic, emotional experience in which people who have privately worked out their stories share them with a group of people who are, without their knowledge, their friends, their peers, their equals, their partners on a remarkable ride.”

Anytime I step into a theatre (or watch a film), I want to go on that ride.  When I look back, even from my days in high school, the plays I’ve written have always provoked some thought.  I can’t write a “nice” play or film script with characters that aren’t chipped/broken in some way.  That doesn’t mean nice things don’t happen in my writing, but the characters have to work for it.  The hope is in the journey getting there and that maybe, along the way, a couple souls watching in the audience will have been touched…and dare I say, even changed.