Where did these history plays come from?
On the surface at least, the idea for Socrates came from hearing a dramatic reading of Plato's dialogue The Symposium in 2001...The idea was reinforced a year later when I had the good fortune to visit Greece and experience for myself Plato's country: The air and sunlight, the ruins of the Pythian Apollo oracle at Delphi, the Theatre of Dionysus below the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and much more...
The idea for Cervantes came during a soiree at the home of two dear friends in Marin. The writing of it began in 2003. The early drafts slowly matured into the draft published here. In 2004 Cervantes was cast and performed.
But why? Why two history plays and not, say, two biographies? Biographies could be done, but I am not a biographer. Also, while compiling the sources for Socrates, I soon concluded that their factual content was paper thin...This not so shocking revelation opened a door to theater in me: Drop the pretense of documented truth and simply continue the ancient tradition of historical fairytales, but on stage. -- from A Preface to History As Story-Telling
