So somehow, things that seem extraneous to the play in reality are not. The scene lasts 37 minutes, and you only need 12 minutes of that for the plot. But if you pull the rest of it out, it's not my play.

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

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

I believe in the American theatre. I believe in its power to inform about the human condition, its power to heal ... its power to uncover the truths we wrestle from uncertain and sometimes unyielding realities.

The simpler you say it, the more eloquent it is.

Have a belief in yourself that is bigger than anyone's disbelief.

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.