I believe that the theater is a place for cultural engagement and discourse. Often, audiences are unprepared to engage with theatrical work in a meaningful way, whether due to a tradition of viewing theatre as merely entertainment or lack of consideration by the performing artists. As a writer, I have been dedicated to inspiring my readers to engage with theatrical work on several levels. Firstly, I encourage readers to think of the cultural impact of the work. How does the work communicate with the daily problems of its audience? How is it in conversation with the larger societal discourse that surrounds us? Secondly, I look at the work’s context in the historical theatrical canon. What’s new here? How are we furthering a conversation started by our predecessors? How is that conversation evolving? I hope we create more thoughtful artists and work by creating a more thoughtful audience. If my mom brings up the themes of the play at her book club, I consider that a win.

Since 2015, I’ve been frustrated with the ways audiences rely on the fourth wall to protect themselves from complicity in the story they’re witnessing. Around ten years ago, I started a blog, Dezi’s Thought Bubble, to provide myself an outlet for dissecting the ways the media I was consuming was in conversation with that larger societal discourse. Through the years, I’ve sharpened my voice and focused my scope to analyzing trends in the theatre community from a sociopolitical perspective. My writing has been lauded by such professionals as directors Annie Tippe and Sam Pinkleton and New Work Development Directors Amrita Ramanan and Jack Phillips Moore and has been used in classroom settings at the University of the Arts and the Wilma Theater. My work has also been featured by The Civilians, The Public Theater, TDF Stages, and American Theater (upcoming).