Writing
For me writing has never been about what I write but why.
I write as a way of being in conversation with the past in order to help reimagine what is possible for our future.
Mercurial by nature, my writing is constantly shifting in form yet it reliably explores our social fabric, power dynamics, historical contexts, body politics, shame, healing, and joy.
My theatrical writing is often produced under my company Exploding Knot. Love Notes for Liberation offers poetry and intentions. I am currently working on a creative non-fiction book, Bawdy of the Bathroom. I also pen articles, scholarly work, and essays. You can find a few samples below.
“Are Instagram and TikTok the future of theater? Probably not. Producing content on these platforms rarely offers financial sustainability to these creators and the platforms and their rules are changing so quickly that it is impossible for most to make a sustainable career on social media, alone. But at this moment, these platforms are offering artists a way to present themselves to audiences unobscured by an industry ruled by the demands of the white gaze.”
“An all-white bathroom, attended to by a person whose job it was to police behavior may have sent a clearer message to Black users than a sign that read “whites only” Engineers did not always state, “these bathrooms are for white people.” Instead, they said, “bathrooms should be pure white.” They did not always say, “women are weaker;” instead, they said, “women need couches.” They did not always say, “the upper classes deserve more privacy,” they said, “privacy should be paid for.” Bathrooms were a product of the industrialized, modern world; They sure had plenty to communicate about who was entitled to all of their comforts and conveniences, and how individuals should behave inside these white tiled walls.”
“Yes, a slogan is by design succinct, but we can’t afford to trade cleverness for a contextually ambiguous vision of the future. We have to specify whose leadership, entrepreneurship, and artistry our vision includes. Perhaps for now, we can settle for recognizing the vital nuance lost when we emboss what should be a multi-dimensional, multi-colored, intricately-shaded future in concise, black and white terms.”
