Two things inspired me to write About Her. Listening to a group of people talking about somebody in their social circle who wasn't present at the time, and receiving a miniature birdhouse as a gift. Unless somebody has a camera inside a birdhouse, it's not possible to know what goes on inside. We make so many assumptions about people, based on little moments of their lives that we witness, but not knowing the whole story. The actors in the original cast were very talented and had great range, so I wrote rolls for some of them that were very different than who they are as people.

It's been very gratifying to hear from theatre groups around the world who've done About Her, and to learn how impactful it was with their actors and their audiences. They appreciate the challenge of the material, the intensity of the piece, and the opportunity to uncover those layers of baggage we all bring to situations and relationships.

I've even heard from folks who were in the audience at theatre festival-competition performances about how moved and inspired they were by the questions the play presents in the course of the characters' journey.

As is true with much of my work, directors should remember that when actors are addressing the audience, the audience is their scene partner. They're not speaking to the other characters onstage. And they should trust that the text will take the audience on the journey, so keep production elements simple.