I do choose to write for a living - in addition to writing plays. I no longer write sitcoms, and I no longer feel shame.
When do I say No? I say No when I feel that the intention of the play, or the spirit, or tone - or text! - is being knowingly changed. Fortunately, this has happened only once. Next time I would say No earlier, and definitively. Otherwise, ultimately, the only No you have is No, you can't open the play. And that No is very very hard to say.
[Using humor to explore serious issues] disarms people. It's a way in. It's gentle, but at the same time it's subversive, and I like that duality.
I definitely write from a need to try, in my own two hours, to right a wrong. My little play is inconsequential in terms of whether or not we have health care, but it may affect the way people who see the play think about the issue.
