“For the last thirteen years, I’ve been working on a new theory of tragedy where risk is the dramatic fulcrum of the action. Why risk?—risk is just so fascinating that someone had to build a theory of drama around it. My book: The Risk Theatre Model of Tragedy: Gambling, Drama, and the Unexpected came out last year. The audiobook, read by Greg Patmore of Coronation Street, will be released this spring.​

I’ve also teamed up with Langham Court Theatre, one of Canada’s oldest and most respected theatres, to create the world’s largest tragedy playwriting competition (risktheatre.com). Congratulations to Brooklyn playwright Gabriel Jason Dean for winning last year’s competition with his play In Bloom, a story of a well-meaning journalist who goes too far.

I had the good fortune of studying under David Konstan, and he continues to inspire me. From him, I learned that the Classics are the beginnings of a broader journey. Begin with the Classics and master the Classics, but also dare to contribute to fields outside the Classics. If he sees this, I hope he’ll find it fitting that my theory of tragedy deals with the emotions: tragedy stirs up our feelings of anticipation for what the hero will wager and apprehension for how it will go awry.”

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