Finding the words for life is an adventure. Making those words accessible, engaging, imaginative, and with sensitivity, respect, and care so that others can bring them to life is my occupation as a playwright. In my endless word odyssey, these are some of the truths I’ve picked up along the way:
An invitation to play is the beginning of a meaningful relationship, whether short (for the duration of one production) or long term (for years or more).
An invitation to laugh, to cry, to rage, and to be seen can be cathartic, addictive, and necessary.
And, sometimes, an invitation alone is enough to affect change.
I approach playwriting like I approach life, by creating opportunities for others to engage and experience art, history, queerness, wellness, and the larger world in new ways. I’ve also found that sometimes what people need most isn’t words. Sometimes all that’s needed is an image, a sound, the idea of a smell, or a touch for a story to become something special. There’s magic in theatre just as there’s magic in real life. Through narrative, character, and language my plays seek to introduce new perspectives, to offer inventive experiences, and to connect/reconnect audience members not just to one another but to the world they go back to once they leave our theaters.
Lauren Davenport 