S : You recently completed your Elliot trilogy . Is Daphne ’ s Dive the beginning of a new chapter in your body of work ?
QAH : Yes . After that trilogy I just wanted to loosen up and have fun . There are moments of tragedy in this story , absolutely , but my playful side is more engaged here .
S : What first got you thinking about Daphne ’ s Dive ?
QAH : An incident happened in my family where my older cousin heard a child crying in the adjacent row home for hours on end . Finally , she broke into the house to discover that police had raided the place and the house was empty . Except for a young girl , who was hiding in the closet and had been abandoned . My cousin informally adopted the girl while her parents were in jail . I kept thinking about that girl , about hearing a kid cry through the walls . I thought , “ This girl is a catalyst that will change the life of a group of people .” A jolt of empathy can jumpstart adults ’ hearts . The truth is , we ’ re hardened . We simply are , it ’ s a survival tactic . And then a jolt of empathy can remind us what matters .
art is not indulgent or soft , but rigorous and explosive .
There is joy , remuneration , and fulfillment to be found in the collaborative and solitary aspects of playwriting .
( left ) The cast of Second Stage Theatre ’ s production of Water by the Spoonful , 2013 . ( this page ) Quiara Alegría Hudes , 2015 .
8