I found out life's hard but it ain't impossible.

I think the play offers (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans For instance, in 'Fences' they see a garbageman, a person they don't really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy's life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman's life is affected by the same things- love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives.

I think all in all, one thing a lot of plays seem to be saying is that we need to, as black Americans, to make a connection with our past in order to determine the kind of future we're going to have. In other words, we simply need to know who we are in relation to our historical presence in America.

What do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?

All of art is a search for ways of being, of living life more fully.

I think that's the core of black aesthetics: the ability to improvise. That is what has enabled our [black people's] survival.

As soon as white folks say a play's good, the theater is jammed with blacks and whites.