I had now reached a point when I had to decide on the form in which these huge themes should be explored. The first clue came in the question of the continuity of these universal human attributes over the millennia. Whatever it was, the form would have to be large…
As with Ibsen, Spenser provoked in his fundamental contradiction my closer look at the elements of the human condition, and a series of themes emerged. What is the nature of our most basic perceptions and drives? What happens in our encounters with others, or, more basically, the Other? What is…
For me, creation of a work starts by asking a question that has arisen from what I have observed. Study of Ibsen’s work and his relationship with his wife Suzannah prompted me to explore how they had responded to each other and how she had steadfastly supported him. It became…
Reading The Fairie Queene turned out to be an adventure and enjoyment. I was at last mature enough to appreciate the artistry of the poetry and the nature of the characters who, despite being allegorical, representing the virtues and the vices, were through their descriptions interesting in themselves. Then I…
Of course, all the time I had been working on the play and the musical I had been continuing to teach, act, and direct. It was one of these events that truly set the stage for the epic. I asked my son Kevin, a professional actor, to do a one-man…
Even as I could begin to write The Eagle and the Tiger, another incident suddenly began a new twist in what I was doing. In Edmonton my hair was styled at And Hare We Are, in which all-female stylists worked on an all-male clientele, and the chief stylist adjusted my…
By 1990, as well as teaching, directing, and acting, I was deeply involved in the creation of the play The Eagle and the Tiger, which dealt with the relationship of Henrik Ibsen and his wife Suzannah—their nicknames for each other were the Eagle for Suzannah and the Tiger for Ibsen,…
I have been asked why and how I have written an epic trilogy, the last volume of which is expected to be finished by the fall of this year. Well, I had no idea that I would even think of such a thing. First of all, my entire career has…
A paradox, this day of love’s exchange, Its past reeking of martyrdom and death, Pagan and Christian eros in one breath Commingling, emotions loosed to tightly range. And in the well-worn stories, great lovers strain To overcome their hardships, their passions thwarted, To keep their troth from many sides distorted,…
