Jazz in itself is not struggling. That is, the music itself is not struggling... It's the attitude that's in trouble. My plays insist that we should not forget or toss away our history.

All you need is the blues. To me, the blues is the book, it's the bible, it's everything.

For me, the original play becomes an historical document: This is where I was when I wrote it, and I have to move on now to something else.

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

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing.

I write for myself and my goal is bringing that world and that experience of black Americans to life on the stage and giving it a space there.

Your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel.