One of the half-dozen books I’m plowing through for research.

Fall is upon us here in NYC; the weather seems to have officially broken, dropping thirty degrees from yesterday’s surprise near-90 down to a chilly, gray day in the mid-50s. Perfect writing weather, in my opinion, time to wrap up in a sweater with a hot toddy (it’s past noon, okay) and dig deeper into the Cold War.

Currently I’m lost in Bulgaria, researching the “assimilation” and eventual expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Bulgarian Turks and other Muslim minorities from Bulgaria to Turkey in the mid- to late-eighties. It’s a dark story of cultural erasure, recognized in 1998 as an ethnic cleansing. I spent most of the last decade learning about the dark secrets of East Germany, but the Iron Curtain hides plenty of horrors worth uncovering, with continued parallels to current societies throughout the Americas. I seem to be a glutton for punishment, as I’m most fascinated by ideas that require a lot of research about heavy topics. The fall of fascist regimes in Europe in 1989, coupled with the rise of fascist regimes in the Americas in 2019 is the narrative I’m collaging for my upcoming project, 201989. (Scroll down to the previous post for more info.) Hopefully a work-in-progress reading will be coming to the public in December back at The Nest, where Watchlist received its debut in June.

Speaking of Watchlist, I can’t share concrete details yet, but things are looking good for a full production of the show in the near future, at a reputable Manhattan venue! I’m thrilled to have found an artistic home interested in producing the piece (and paying its artists!!!) and can’t wait to spread the news, once the deal is worked out.

Stay tuned for more news soon!

Kafka in Prague

Why hello there! I’ve begun working on a new project, a sibling play to Watchlist, inspired by my recent trip to the UK and Prague. 201989 (twenty nineteen eighty-nine) is about the fall of dictators and the rise of dictators in the years of the title. What does it mean, 30 years since the fall of the Iron Curtain, that dictatorial rulers are on the rise in so much of our world?

I am seeking collaborators for a heavily-researched devised piece exploring themes of what makes a name, a nation, an identity. The world can change in a moment, and you don’t know it when you wake up in the morning that your life might be different by nightfall. Berlin, November 9, 1989. New York, September 11, 2001. London, August 28, 2019. So many dates in between. What happens when your government falls? When your government stalls? When the only world you’ve known suddenly no longer exists?

Characters in the play will come from diverse backgrounds - Charlie, an East German who has never known a unified Berlin; Sofia, a Muslim Bulgarian Turk whose name was forcibly changed by the Bulgarian government in 1984; Amal, a Palestinian living in the West Bank in 2019; an American (no name yet) living in El Paso, Texas who remembers a world before walls. These will not be the only stories, but they are a start.

The collaboration process will involve meeting to generate material collectively, as well as individual historical and political research for each creator’s character. An ability to work both independently and with others is crucial. A desire to create new work and experience devising with a team are both encouraged. This creative space will be inclusive of all races, genders, and abilities. If you are interested in these themes and this process, please contact me. Please note focus will be on queer, trans, nonbinary, and women’s stories. Some roles are inherently non-white, all others are non-specific. Cis men welcome to contribute to research and content building, but the characters will very likely not be suited to you.