Characterization: Exploring Layers of Self

In writing fiction, non-fiction, scripts, biographies, memoirs, journals, and poetry one conjures characters of self whose personae ultimately achieve a breathing life on paper, stage, and film. The written characters must, therefore, present authentic voices and lifestyles to the reader and audience: a constituency who will experience, from page or stage or screen, a view of themselves. Nathan Ross Freeman discusses characterization and shares the extended benefit of the search and revelation of self necessary to compose human interactions predisposed to live on page, on stage, or on screen.

The Playwright Advocate: Power of Staged Plays

The playwright has been a shaman in the community since scrawled cave walls and etched stone have conveyed history. Even today, wise men still perform their prophecies around the fire. From Aborigine processions, to Shakespeare's commentaries, to Washington Square every Sunday afternoon, staged plays have chronicled and celebrated contemporary issues. Today's protests, congregational testimonials, marches, mixed media performance art, and political campaigns all herald the power of scripted work for live stage when the community needs to be made awareÑwhen change is urgent and town meeting interaction excited. Mr. Freeman invites audiences to discuss and discover the play as a vehicle for advocacy.

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