Odysseus Died from AIDS was produced at last year's Fringe Festival. What was the Fringe experience like for you?
The Fringe Festival was a fantastic and hectic experience. We carted our entire set and ten actors up from Miami for two weeks in order to perform, but the response we received made all the effort worthwhile. I would have to say that the people at the Fringe, particularly the volunteers at our venue, were extremely generous and supportive of our work. Our company is looking forward to doing something at the Fringe again in the future.
What was the inspiration for you to write the play?
I was sitting in the outpatient center of a local hospital while getting a dose of antibiotics and I was struck by the wide variety of individuals sitting in the room with me. There is something heroic about standing bravely in the face of such odds that I wanted to capture. It is the desire I have to not be remembered as a noble, suffering AIDS patient, but as an individual with immense accomplishments. The Odyssey seemed like an interesting fit because I had always admired Odysseus’ desire to achieve Kleos, or glory. Using Epic Tragedy also allowed me to play with Brechtian and Greek theatrical traditions. The relationship between Elliot and Mrs. Hayes is very much the relationship I have with my mother. I am always heavily influenced by the actors, designers, and directors I work with. The original production team from Odysseus Died from AIDS has left their own signatures all over its pages. Maha’s obsession with McDonalds is inspired by the actress’s own predilection for Happy Meals. Elliot’s sense of humor and defiance is very much transplanted from John Bixler’s own charm. Mrs. Hayes’ language is the way Ariana Shore speaks. The shape and scope of the work were inspired by the designs of Michiko Kitayama and the vision of Vincent Cardinal. I set out to capture the dignity and heroism that lies dormant in all of us and I was inspired to also capture the humanity and power of this particular group of people.
What caused you to first start writing?
I was a Biology major in college, but I had always had a love of theater. I think in choosing a career my practical side was at the time overwhelming the artistic. But in my sophomore year of college I was faced with three major losses. My boyfriend died from AIDS-related pneumonia; my grandmother, who had been a source of inspiration passed away; and soon after my grandfather died. I had no real, practical way of dealing with the issue so I turned to writing. I remember sitting on the floor of my grandparents' house the night of my grandmother’s funeral and writing the first few scenes of my first play. Writing for me is a way to explore emotions and ideas that in ordinary life I refuse to, or am unable to, articulate.
You are originally from New York, but now live in Florida. What prompted your move?
I moved in order to take a teaching position at the University of Miami in the Theatre Arts Department. I was facing a crossroads, having just finished graduate school, and was given an extraordinary opportunity to work at a research institution under the leadership of my theatrical mentor, Vincent Cardinal. It was really an easy decision. The University offers me the ability to constantly refine my craft and has been entirely supportive in the development of new works. Where else can a playwright have access to theatrical space, collaboration with successful, intelligent designers, and an almost limitless supply of eager, talented young actors to work with? The University of Miami has even served as our producing partner for our production of Odysseus Died from AIDS at the Fringe Festival. I truly believe the university system can be a home for the development of new plays.
How long have you been doing teaching? And how did you first decide to become a teacher?
When I started the job was supposed to be only for one year. I’ve been here for four. I always enjoyed the organizational aspects of teaching. It’s the nerd left over in me from high school, but there is something fulfilling about planning lectures and finding new ways to communicate ideas.
What is rewarding, for you, about teaching?
For me there are two fundamental benefits to being a teacher. The first is of course the ability to inspire and educate a future generation of theatre artists. We have to pass the torch down to the generations of young artist behind us or the theatrical tradition we all value won’t last. There is something rewarding about watching students mature into young artists. The second is that being a teacher keeps me on my toes. I think it is easy for us to become stagnate in our development as artists. Teaching keeps me fully emerged in debating and understanding what it is that makes theatre Theatre. I feel like I’ve taught a good class if not only the students leave having learned something new, but if I also leave having discovered something about theatre that I hadn’t realized before.
What is the most important thing you want your students to learn from your classes?
To think. I want my students to leave the classroom not only knowing the information, but also questioning what they’ve learned. How does understanding The Poetics help me to make interesting choices as an actor? Did Brecht get it right or are there other ways to engage an audience to think about what they are seeing besides Alienation? I hope at least some of my students see past the rules and diagrams and see the limitless possibilities that come from learning.
I have to ask: you earned your Bachelor's Degree in Biology and Theater. It never occurred to me that the two were related. Or are they?
I think the connection between Science and Art is more tangible than most believe. Being a scientist teaches you to look for the underlying patterns in things. You ask questions like: How does it work? What is its function? These are the same questions I ask as a writer and director. The analytical part of my brain helps me to analyze how plays work. I don’t believe theatre is all lights and mirrors. There are basic analytical fundamentals that all great artists have to understand. Of course it also helps to have an abundance of imagination. Studying Biology also instilled a work ethic in me that I don’t always see in my artist peers. You have to get your butt in the chair to write a play. That’s the major stumbling block for most people.
Who are your artistic influences and/or inspirations? What kind of work - be it a play, a movie, a book, etc. - really gets you fired up in a good way?
The academic answer is Aeschylus’ depth of character, Brecht’s technique, Nicky Silver’s imagination and dialogue, Paula Vogel’s theatricality, Tony Kushner’s politics, and Eugene O’Neil’s relationships. These are the writers that inspire me to write. I remember reading O’Neil’s A Long Days Journey Into Night and thinking that I had just found an agnostics alternative to the Bible. In reality I am a sucker for anything with a compelling story. I love TV shows like Alias, Lost, and the gone but not forgotten Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. In fact it is my life long aspiration to write for General Hospital. To anyone from ABC who might be reading this, if you like my play, call me. I am the man for the job.
Have you seen anything lately, theater-wise, that you really liked?
I Am My Own Wife and Hairspray are the last two shows I saw in New York that inspired me. I have been bitten by the Docu-drama bug. I find the weaving together of narrative and drama extremely compelling. When you walk out of the theatre at the end of I Am My Own Wife and see the picture of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf as a young boy the emotional impact to the piece is just Kaboom. It leaves the audience breathless. I also think that great theatre entertains. Hairspray is the most fun I’ve had in the theatre since I was a kid. My students will attest that I don’t always get the value of the musical theatre genre, but Hairspray managed to make me think while still wanting to sing along and tap my toes. The production left me feeling incredibly satisfied at the end.
I understand you're working on another project right now that focuses again on AIDS. Would you mind talking a little bit about it?
My colleagues and I are planning a trip to Africa to do research and conduct interviews about the AIDS crisis. Our goal is to create and produce a documentary-drama on the continuing AIDS crisis in the world with a focus on its impact in Africa and North America. With this project we intend to revitalize the passion and furor for discussion and action as related to global prevention, treatment, and individual dignity.
AIDS is a very important subject for you. Why so?
AIDS has shaped the lens through which I see the world, so it is only inevitable that it will be present in my writing. To many in this country, including the media, the AIDS crisis has become yesterday’s news. I think that it is important for the theatre to continue it’s campaign started by people like William Hoffman, Joe Pintauro, Cheryl West, Larry Kramer, and Paula Vogel to give voice to the researchers, victims, doctors, and families whose voices are no longer news-worthy because they have worn out their popular welcome. Even in the American Theatre there seems to be a stigma to plays that deal with AIDS as being dated or clichéd. I agree that there are other problems in this world, some perhaps even bigger than thousands of people dying monthly, but I would like to give voice to all of those people who are working still on this crisis that was not solved but marginalized. Elliot, the central character of the play, is the embodiment of that condition. What I wanted to do with Odysseus Died from AIDS, is show a character, a person, finding his power and voice from the very thing that is marginalizing him in the first place. If those of us with the disease can’t find the passion and power that comes from being HIV positive no one else is going to do it for us.