SNAPSHOT

My solo play was the thing that launched me into this multidisciplinary community work. Finally finding my missing father in Honolulu, formerly homeless and living in solitude, still suffering from what he had been drafted to do in Vietnam. Seeing how his life had been destroyed and no one seemed to care and knowing how my mother’s life and mine was affected by him not being there was an intense reality to digest. My vital route forward to processing the painful truth- do what NYC taught me-write my own story and invite many to bear witness. Legs weak, voice quivering, I stepped onto stage at BRIC Studio in Brooklyn and birthed my solo play. A journey through a landscape of years, memories and across continents, prompted by the question: What do I know about war? SNAPSHOT addresses multiple challenges of growing up in Central Appalachia and making a life, the enduring impact of public policies and private concerns, and questions of race and identity. It offers a nuanced understanding of how race functions as a central component of our national identity. I proudly write, SNAPSHOT is now an internationally award-winning play, PBS broadcast 2014-2019, performed at over 50 American universities, and three continents. Many thanks to those in my audiences, your presence has helped give me a new sense of myself, Unbuntu.

See the show here.