Why I Write For And About The Family

(Sort of a mission statement)

I believe that the family is the central organizational unit of this world. There is nothing that compares to it and there is nothing that can replace it. I am speaking of all types of families — traditional and non-traditional. It is of unique structure. It is of paramount importance. Where there is love, caring, bonding, blood-ties, ties of duty, responsibility and authority; where there are co-importance and interdependence, that is where you may find a family.

I write plays, musicals, novels, stories and songs — and anything else — in support of The Family. I create so that each family can reaffirm, from what I write —  can pluck from it — something that they need, whether they knew they needed it or not — those somethings are what make each family uniquely special, different — viable.

I write for the child in all of us. Whether that child is of the age of a child, or has grown beyond those childhood years and into adolescence, young adulthood, or has become a parent themselves, or an aunt or uncle, or a grandparent — or even a great-grandparent — I hope that something in my writing will touch each one of them in some way that reminds them that we are all children — all members of The Human Family — along with those other relationships that sustain us and draw us close.

I write for the instruction of ‘the child’. I write for the edification of ‘the child’. I write so that ‘the child’ may laugh and cry; hope and dream; teach and learn; and give.

Whether it is exploring the individuality of each family member that helps create a family, or fathoming the unity of the individuals within a family, I think it is important to probe all the dynamics involved in making up the greatest unit ever created: The Human Family.

I want families to read together; attend the theatre together; watch films together; sing songs together. Discuss. Talk. Communicate. I want children to ask the difficult questions. I want parents [and others] to answer those questions openly and honestly; completely. I want the world to fight the approaching plagues, not give in to them. Preparing our families for the battle against the coming foe will prepare the world for a victory in those battles.