>>> WE TURN NOW TO BROADWAY, WHERE AWARD WINNING PLAYWRIGHT BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS MADE HISTORY AT THIS YEAR'S TONY AWARDS BECOMING THE FIRST BLACK PLAYWRIGHT SINCE 1987 TO WIN BEST PLAY FOR HIS PRODUCTION OF "PURPOSE."

THE PLAY'S CARRIE YOUNG TOOK HOME AN AWARD FOR HER PERFORMANCE.

IT IS A BEHIND THE SCENES LOOK AT AN AGING CIVIL RIGHTS ICON'S HOUSEHOLD, AS THEY NAVIGATE COMPLEX FAMILY DYNAMICS THAT PERHAPS MANY OF US CAN RELATE TO.

AND JACOBS-JENKINS JOINS HARI SREENIVASAN TO DISCUSS WHY HE CREATED THIS WORK.

>> THANKS.

BRENDEN JACOBS-JENKINS, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

YOUR PLAY "PURPOSE" WHICH WON TWO OF THE SIX TONY WARDS IT WAS NOMINATED FOR, A PULITZER PRIZE FOR DRAMA, FOR FOLKS WHO WERE NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE ABLE TO SEE IT ON BROADWAY, CAN YOU GIVE US A DIGEST OF WHAT IS THE PLOT?

>> "PURPOSE" IS A FAMILY DRAMA IN THE AMERICAN MODE ABOUT TWO GENERATIONS OF A FAMILY THAT DESCEND ON A HOME TO CELEBRATE THE HOMECOMING OF ONE OF THE YOUNGEST SONS FROM A PERIOD OF INCARCERATION.

AND THE PARENTS ARE BOTH SORT OF TANGENTIAL LUMINARIES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS ERA.

SORT OF A DYNASTIC FAMILY, BLACK DYNASTIC FAMILY AND THE YOUNGEST SON WHO IS A PHOTOGRAPHER BRINGS ALONG A FRIEND AND HILARITY ENSUES.

FAMILY TRAPPED IN A HOUSE, BUT HOPEFULLY -- >> DURING A SNOWSTORM, THROW IN SOME TENSION, A LITTLE BIT OF SEXUALITY IN THERE, YEAH.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO PICK ON THIS KIND OF A FAMILY?

BECAUSE IS THIS KIND OF MODELED AROUND JESSE JACKSON FAMILY?

>> WELL, I WAS VERY INTERESTED IN WRITING A PLAY ABOUT A BLACK POLITICAL DYNASTY AND THERE AREN'T THAT MANY.

AND THERE IS A FEW MODELS I DREW FROM.

I THINK THE JACKSONS ARE THE MOST LEGIBLE TO PEOPLE.

I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT THE LEGACY OF THAT ERA, THINKING OF THE POLITICS AND THE IDEOLOGICAL IN SOME WAYS AND CULTURAL WARFARE ACTUALLY COMES AT A COST AND THAT COST OFTEN HAPPENS IN THE FAMILY SPACE OR FAMILY UNIT.

I WAS INTERESTING IN DIGGING THROUGH SORT OF THE SCARS AND LEGACIES OF THE MID20th CENTURY AS IT AFFECTED THE ENTIRE GENERATION OF AMERICANS AND HOW THAT MIGHT HAVE TRICKLED DOWN TO THEIR KIDS.

REALLY JUST TRYING TO EXPLORE THE KIND OF INNER GENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF AMERICAN POLITICAL LIFE.

>> WHAT IS IT THAT PEOPLE ARE FINDING CONNECTING TO?

WHY IS THAT AMERICAN FAMILY SUCH AN INTERESTING VEHICLE TO TELL ALL THESE OTHER STORIES?

>> I'VE BEEN HEARING A LOT OF AMAZING AUDIENCE MEMBERS TELL ME ABOUT HOW THEY SAW THEMSELVES IN THE FAMILY, THAT ULTIMATELY, YOU KNOW, I THINK FAMILY DRAMAS ARE THE AMERICAN PAST TIME.

WE LOVE TALKING ABOUT OUR FAMILIES, LOVE HEARING GOSSIP ABOUT OTHER FAMILIES, WE MAKE TV SHOWS ABOUT FAMILIES.

I THINK IT DOES KIND OF OPERATE IN THAT WORLD AS WELL, WHILE ALSO TOUCHING ON THESE MORE UNIQUE SUBJECTS.

I ALSO THINK THAT I WROTE THIS PLAY WITH THE THEATER COMPANY, THE WORLD'S PREMIERE ACTING ENSEMBLE BASED IN CHICAGO, AND THEY'RE JUST GIVING, LIKE, A SET OF KILLER PERFORMANCES.

FIVE OF OUR SIX ACTORS WERE NOMINATED FOR TONY AWARDS, ONE OF THEM WON.

IT IS LIKE A FEAST IF YOU'RE INTO SEEING SOME INCREDIBLE ACTORS GO AT EACH OTHER.

IT IS SPECTACULAR.

YEAH.

>> I WAS SITTING IN THE THEATER, IT WAS INTERESTING TO ME BECAUSE YOU FELT LIKE YOU WERE A FLY ON THE WALL, WATCHING, YOU KNOW.

YOU WERE, LIKE, LOOKING IN THE WINDOW BUT COULD HEAR IN GREAT DETAIL ALL THE STUFF HAPPENING AT THIS DINNER TABLE WHERE THERE IS A REALLY KIND OF FEISTY SCENE.

WHAT IS IT THAT YOU WANT TO EXPOSE IN THESE CONVERSATIONS, IN THESE SPACES WHERE PEOPLE ARE SPEAKING IN A WAY THAT THEY DON'T THINK ANYBODY IS LISTENING?

>> YEAH, I GUESS I WANTED TO EXPLORE A LOT ABOUT THIS IDEA OF SHAME IN THE FAMILY AND HOW TO OPERATE, YOU KNOW, THAT EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY IS MANIPULATING OUR NAVIGATING THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO SHAME AND IT IS THE THING THAT MAKES LOVE SO DIFFICULT, I FIND, IN THESE FAMILIAL CONTEXTS AND YOU'RE SEEING PEOPLE WHO LOVE EACH OTHER HITTING THEIR HEAD AGAINST THIS EGOTISTIC RELATIONSHIP TO SOMETHING THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO SHARE.

AND THAT ENGINE IS FOR ME IN EVERY SCENE, ESPECIALLY AT THE DINNER TABLE, WHICH PEOPLE ARE REALLY LOVING, I COMPARED IT TO THE GLADIATORS AND THE ARENA AND NO ONE LEAVES THE SAME.

THAT'S ONE OF THE HIGH POINTS FOR PEOPLE AT OUR SHOW.

>> YOU ARE APPARENTLY THE GUEST OF HONOR.

>> NO, FATHER.

THAT WAS JUST ME ON AUTO PILOT.

YOU ARE THE HEAD OF THIS FAMILY.

>> BUCKLE UP!

>> OKAY, SO LET'S LOOK AT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS, ONE BY ONE.

YOU GOT HARRY LENNOX FOR MAINSTREAM AUDIENCE, THEY MIGHT REMEMBER HIS FACE FROM A VERY BIG TV SHOW CALLED "BLACK LIST," HE'S A GIFTED ACTOR ON STAGE IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN HIM.

AND HE'S KIND OF THE FATHER OF THIS FAMILY, BUT HE'S A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, AND HE'S JUST GOT THESE DEEP FLAWS AS A FATHER AND A HUSBAND, BUT YOU ALSO DO KIND OF WANT TO ROOT FOR HIM A LITTLE BIT, BECAUSE YOU EMPATHIZE HIM TRYING TO GET THIS CONNECTION.

>> THE THING I DISCOVERED BEING A RECENT PARENT MYSELF IS YOU REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW.

AND YOU CAN LITERALLY DEDICATE YOUR LIFE AND THROW ALL YOUR LOVE INTO THIS SMALL CREATURE AND THEY WILL GROW UP ONE DAY AND SAY, YOU ARE IN MY LIFE.

THAT IS THE JOURNEY OF HAVING TO SORT OF WAKE UP TO THIS -- HIS REPORT CARD ON FATHERING AND THEN WANTING TO ACTUALLY MAKE GOOD ON THAT, PAIR THAT WORK, BUT REALIZE IN SOME WAYS IT IS TOO LATE.

AND ACCEPT CHILDREN WHO THEY HAVE BECOME, THAT'S THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ACT OF RADICAL ACTION FOR HIM IN THE SPACE.

AND ALSO THINKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, FOR SOMEONE WHO SPENT THEIR ENTIRE LIFE IN THE TRENCHES, FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM, HOW DOES -- WHAT DOES FREEDOM LOOK LIKE?

WHEN YOUR CHILDREN COME UP, WHAT DO THEY GET TO CHOOSE, THEIR EXPERIENCE OF IT?

THAT'S ONE OF THE MORE HIGHFALUTIN PHILOSOPHICAL ARGUMENTS HE'S HAVING INTERNALLY.

>> TONIGHT, WE'RE CELEBRATING MY BELATED BIRTHDAY.

AND HIM BRINGING HOME A -- A FRIEND IS ABOUT THE GREATEST GIFT I COULD HAVE ASKED FOR.

I ALSO COULDN'T HAVE IT ON MY CONSCIENCE, YOU SLIPPING AND SLIDING INTO SOME ROADSIDE DITCH ON THE WAY TO NEW YORK.

ALL BECAUSE MY SON DECIDED TO BE WITHHOLDING.

SO, AS THE BIRTHDAY GIRL, I'M GOING TO NEED YOU TO GIVE ME WHAT I WANT.

>> CLAUDINE JASPER, SHE IS, YOU KNOW, IN THE BEGINNING, YOU'RE LIKE AN OVERBEARING MOM FIGURE, BUT SHE'S KIND OF THE GLUE THAT KEPT THIS IDEA OF A LEGACY THROUGH HOOK AND BY CROOK ALIVE.

>> I THINK TO ME SHE EMBODIES A CERTAIN IDEA OF A TRADITIONAL MATRIARCH.

AND WHAT THAT MEANT TO TAKE THAT ON AS A CALLING TO BELIEVE IN THE DEEPEST OF YOURSELF THAT YOUR JOB IS TO KEEP A FAMILY ALIVE AND KEEP IT TOGETHER AND BE A QUIET PROTECTOR BEHIND THE SCENES.

SHE REALLY, LIKE A LOT OF THE WOMEN OF THIS GENERATION, YOU KNOW, IT WAS A COLLABORATION WHAT THEY WERE DOING, SOCIALLY, THE MALE WAS ALWAYS PUBLIC FACING PART OF IT.

AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WAKE UP IN A WORLD WHERE THOSE GENDER DYNAMICS ARE QUESTIONED DAILY.

WE'RE LOOKING AT WOMEN RISING TO VERY PROMINENT PLACES IN THE POLITICAL SYSTEM THAT WAS JUST UNHEARD OF.

AND SHE WAS GROWING UP AND HER MODELS ARE BEING FORGED IN, YOU KNOW.

>> NAS AND JUNIOR ARE TWO OF THE SONS, THE BROTHERS IN THIS HOUSEHOLD.

NAS PLAYED BY JOHN MICHAEL HILL, THE NARRATOR OF THIS PLAY, AND YOU SEE THEM KIND OF STRUGGLING WITH THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF THE SAME LEGACY, RIGHT?

THE NAME THAT THEY CARRY AND WHY AND ALL THE KIND OF BAGGAGE THAT COMES WITH IT, EVEN THOUGH YOUR FATHER WAS A WELL RESPECTED CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER.

>> YEAH, I THINK FOR ME THEY'RE VERY DIFFERENT BROTHERS, RIGHT?

YOU GOT ONE BROTHER WHO DOUBLED DOWN ON THE LEGACY, BOUGHT THE WHOLE THING, HOG AND ALL, I THINK THAT'S THE PHRASE, BUT HE HAS THE FATHER'S NAME, HE TRIED TO RE-ENACT THE STEPS HIS FATHER DID AND HAD THIS OTHER SON WHO DID THE OPPOSITE, HE RAN AWAY TO BECOME A NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND SPEND HIS LIFE IN ISOLATION OUT IN THE WOODS WHERE, YOU KNOW, RABBITS AND SQUIRRELS DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT -- AND TRYING TO MAKE SENSE OF HOW THESE TWO BELONG TO THE SAME FAMILY IS ONE OF THE GREAT JOYS OF WORKING THIS OUT, THESE ACTORS AND FOR ME I THINK I'M TRYING TO EXPLORE NEW VERSIONS AND ITERATIONS OF MASCULINITY, OF, YOU KNOW, CREATIVE LIFE AND THIS IDEA OF, LIKE, THESE CHILDREN WERE BORN IN THE SPACE WHERE THEY COULD KIND OF TAKE THEIR FREEDOM FOR GRANTED AND FOR THEM THEY'RE BOTH EXERCISING WHAT THEY FELT FREEDOM SHOULD BE AND HAVE RECEIVED INTERESTING FORMS OF BLOWBACK FROM THE WORLD IN WHICH THEY FOUND THEMSELVES.

>> LET ME ASK, ALANA RAVEN PLAYS JASPER JR.'S WIFE, MORGAN JASPER.

>> I SAID BEWARE, WATCH OUT.

>> BEWARE OF WHAT?

>> LIFE, EVERYTHING, BEWARE.

>> HER CHARACTER, THE PREMISE IS VERY INTERESTING.

SHE IS ABOUT TO HEAD TO PRISON AFTER HER HUSBAND GOT OUT FOR FINANCIAL CRIMES THAT HE COMMITTED.

SO, WHY DESIGN THIS CHARACTER IN THIS WAY, WHAT MOTIVATED THAT?

>> I WAS INSPIRED BY THE KIND OF COLLATERAL DAMAGE SOME OF THE POLITICAL CRIMES AND INTERESTED IN TRACKING THROUGH SOLOMON JASPER JR. AND MORGAN THE EVOLUTIONS OF THAT KIND OF IDEA OF THE TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, RIGHT?

SHE'S DEFINITELY NOT THE SAME KIND OF WIFE THAT THE MOTHER-IN-LAW IS AND EVEN IN THE RAISING OF HER CHILDREN, YOU KNOW, HAD DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES, DIFFERENT LANGUAGE ABOUT SOME OF THEIR NEWER DIVERGENCE SHE HAS TO NAVIGATE AND SHE REALLY BECOMES THIS IMPORTANT COUNTERPOINT TO THE ROMANCE THAT THE FAMILY HAS BY ITSELF.

SHE FEELS LIKE AN INNOCENT BYSTANDER WHO HAS BEEN SIDESWIPED.

AND SHE COMES FROM A DIFFERENT BACKGROUND.

IN SOME WAYS SHE GREW UP ENTHRALLED OF THE FAMILY'S ANTHOLOGY.

WE WERE THE PEOPLE YOU GUYS WERE MARCHING FOR AND I GET HERE AND YOU ALL FEEL LIKE CRIMINALS.

THAT'S -- IT IS A DIFFERENT KIND OF EXPERIENCE OF HOW THOSE IMAGES OF THAT ERA ULTIMATELY CAME TO POLITICS ITSELF.

ITS OWN KIND OF BAG OF TRICKS.

>> YOU SAID YOUR DADDY WAS SOME SORT OF REVEREND, BUT NOT LIKE THIS KIND OF REVEREND.

NOT LIKE AN ORGANIZED MARCHES REVEREND, NOT LIKE I USED TO KICK IT WITH ROSA PARKS REVEREND, NOT LIKE AN MLK SHRINE IN THE LIVING ROOM REVEREND.

DIDN'T HIS SON GO TO JAIL?

WAIT, THAT'S YOUR BROTHER.

>> ARI YOUNG, THE ACTRESS WHO WON THE TONY FOR BEST FEATURED ACTRESS IN A PLAY AND SHE -- HER CHARACTER IS AZIZA HOUSTON, WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF HAVING HER HERE?

IS SHE THE AUDIENCE OBSERVE, THE OUTSIDER COMING IN?

WHY DID YOU WRITE HER IN THE WAY YOU DID?

>> MY TEACHER, SHE USE TOAD D T TWO KINDS OF PLAYS, A STRANGER GOING ON A JOURNEY OR THE STRANGER WHO COMES TO TOWN.

SHE'S THE STRANGER WHO COMES TO TOWN.

I WAS INTERESTED IN BRINGING SOMEONE ON STAGE WHO MIGHT EMBODY A DIFFERENT IDEA OR MORE CONTEMPORARY IDEA OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS BLACK POLITICAL ACTION, LIFE, AND THAT CALLING.

SHE KIND OF SPEAKS VERY VIVIDLY ABOUT THIS.

SHE IS ALSO AN EASTER COAST, SORT OF NORTHERN BORN IDEA OF BLACK LIFE THAT SORT OF IS SHOWING UP TO BEING IN CONTRAST TO THIS KIND OF SOUTHERN ORIGIN, CHICAGO, MIDWEST, TRADITIONAL CHURCH BOUND SPACE.

AND SHE REALLY DOES BECOME A CATALYST FOR SELF-REFLECTION FOR A LOT OF FOLKS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY HER CONNECTION TO NAS WHO IS -- THIS ISN'T SPOILING ANYTHING, SHE'S ASKS HIM TO FATHER OR SIRE HER CHILD SHE WANTS TO CARRY, WHICH, OF COURSE, IS WHAT CREATES A LOT OF INTERESTING POLITICAL AND EMOTIONAL TENSION INSIDE THE FAMILY.

>> I WONDER, THIS PLAY IT LOOKS AT SO MANY DIFFERENT REALLY KIND OF PERSONAL, HEAVY ISSUES.

BUT WHAT I WAS KIND OF SURPRISED BY WAS THE AMOUNT OF LAUGHTER IN THE AUDIENCE.

I DON'T KNOW IF YOU INTENTIONALLY WERE TRYING TO PLAN THESE KIND OF COMEDIC LINES OR MAYBE IN THE PREVIEWS OR I DON'T KNOW WHERE, YOU SAY, OKAY, THAT ACTUALLY WORKED, I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TO BE A FUNNY LINE, I THOUGHT THE WAY I WROTE IT, THE INTENTION WAS DIFFERENT OR THE ACTORS DID THEY BRING SOMETHING THAT MADE THAT FUNNY?

>> IT WOULD BE FUNNY IF I CAME OUT HERE AND SAID, LIKE, WHY IS EVERYONE LAUGHING?

I FEEL FOR ME, I WANT TO REFLECT THE EXPERIENCE OF LIFE, WHICH IS FOLK US CUS AS MUCH LAUGHTER AS CRINGING AND LAUGHTER FOR ME IN A GROUP IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PHENOMENONS WE HAVE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT IS SOMETHING YOU DON'T DO WITH A LOT OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS AND WHEN YOU SHARE IT WITH STRANGERS, YOU'RE BONDED, YOU'RE CONNECTED, YOU REALIZE YOU SHARE SOME SORT OF POINT OF VIEW ON A SITUATION AND FOR ME, THE AUDIENCE IS REALLY A SPACE TO KIND OF UNITE PEOPLE AND GET PEOPLE TO HEAR EACH OTHER AND TRUST EACH OTHER.

SO, I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, FOR ME, I TOOK THE COMIC ENERGY IN EVERYTHING I DO, BUT I HOPE THAT IT IS, YOU KNOW, ONE OF MANY KIND OF EMOTIONAL STATES OR EXPERIENCES OVER THE COURSE OF THE EVENING.

>> SO HOW DOES A PLAYWRIGHT WORK WITH A DIRECTOR?

FOR SOMEONE VERY OUTSIDE THE THEATER, THE DIRECTOR OF THIS PLAY, PHYLICIA RASHAD, A CERTAIN GENERATION WHO WOULD REMEMBER HER AS CLAIRE HUXTABLE FROM "THE COSBY SHOW" AND HELPED REDEFINE A DIFFERENT VISION OF A BLACK FAMILY IN AMERICA THROUGH THAT TV SHOW.

BUT SHE IS ALSO NOW A SUCCESSFUL DIRECTOR IN HER OWN RIGHT.

WHAT -- WHERE DOES THE DIRECTING START, WHERE DOES THE PLAYWRIGHTING END AND HOW DOES THAT GO BACK AND FORTH?

>> IT VARIES FROM PROJECT TO PROJECT.

IT IS LIKE A MARRIAGE.

NOT EVERY MARRIAGE GIVERS YOU THE SAME RESULTS.

AND PHYLICIA RASHAD, I COULDN'T BELIEVE SHE SAID YES, WE APPROACHED HER WITH 20 PAGES OF A SCRIPT.

NOT ONLY IS SHE EVERYONE KNOWS HER AS CLAIRE HUXTABLE, SHE'S ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THEATER ARTISTS LIVING TODAY.

SHE IS THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TO WIN, THE BEST ACTRESS FOR TONY.

TONY FOR BEST ACTRESS.

SHE HAD BEEN -- SHE'S THE ORIGINAL CAST OF "DREAM GIRLS," ORIGINAL CAST OF "THE WHIZ," SHE TOUCHED EVERY SINGLE POCKET, MEANINGFUL THEATER IN THIS LAST HALF CENTURY AND SHE BRINGS ALL THAT WISDOM AND GRACE AND WARMTH INTO THE ROOMS AND SHE REALLY CREATES A SPACE OF KIND OF JUST SHAMELESS UNSELF-CONSCIOUS INSPIRATION AND EXPLORING, YOU KNOW, WHICH IS WHAT WE NEEDED.

WE REALLY ARE BUILDING THIS PLAY, BUILDING THE PLAY AS WE WERE FLYING, RIGHT?

AND THE WAY SHE COULD JUST GIVE -- SHE WOULD WALK UP TO AN ACTOR AND WHISPER IN THEIR EAR AND WHATEVER SHE WAS WHISPERING, YOU WOULD GET THIS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERFORMANCE, JUST A MASTER OF THE ART FORM.

I THINK IT IS -- FIVE OF OUR SIX ACTORS NOMINATED, IT IS CLEARLY SOMETHING SHE -- >> SHE HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT.

>> YEAH, EXACTLY.

>> THE WHISPERS WORKED.

I WONDER IF DO YOU HAVE A BODY OF WORK THAT YOU ARE TRYING -- I'M THINKING OF AUGUST WILSON AND THE FULL CYCLE OF PLAYS THAT HE WROTE AND REALLY JUST ONE AFTER THE OTHER, DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF THE BLACK EXPERIENCE IN AMERICA, AND LAST ROUND, YOU KNOW, OF THE TONYS, YOUR PLAY "APPROPRIATE" WON BEST REVIVAL OF A PLAY, AND THAT TAKES PLACE ON A PLANTATION IN ARKANSAS WITH DYSFUNCTIONAL WHITE FAMILY.

I'M WONDERING WHETHER THESE ARE ALL PIECES THAT ADD UP TO SOMETHING ELSE THAT YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT.

>> YEAH, IT IS NOTHING QUITE AS INTENTIONAL AS AUGUST WILSON'S PROJECT, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT SORT OF RECLAIMING THE 20th CENTURY FOR BLACK AMERICAN LIFE, BUT I MEAN, THEY ALL FEEL CONNECTED AND I'LL BE HONEST, I WAS THINKING ABOUT PURPOSE AND WRITING A LOT OF IT WHILE I WAS WRITING "APPROPRIATE," THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT FAMILY DRAMA, IT IS WHAT WE'RE GOOD AT.

I WANTED TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD FEEL LIKE TO RECAST SOME OF THOSE THEMES AND SOME OF THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND DIFFERENT SPACE, A DIFFERENT TIME AND I DID WRITE "APPROPRIATE" 10, 12 YEARS AGO, DIFFERENT PERSONNEL, I HAVE KIDS, I WANTED TO GET BACK INTO THE ARENA WITH IT AND SEE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN.

BUT ULTIMATELY I THINK ALL OF MY PLAYS ARE ABOUT THINKING THROUGH WHAT IS AMERICAN.

WHAT IS AMERICAN ABOUT DRAMA?

WHAT IS AMERICAN ABOUT US AUDIENCES?

WE'RE TRYING TO CHALLENGE OUR OWN IDEAS OF WHAT WE ARE VERSUS WHAT WE ARE TOLD WE ARE, WHAT WE THINK WE ARE AND EXPLORING THINGS LIKE HISTORY AND POLITICS, SUBJECTS YOU CAN MAJOR IN IN COLLEGE HAVE A DIRECT AND SIGNIFICANT AND SPECIFIC IMPACT ON THE WAYS THAT HUMAN BEINGS LIVE THEIR LIVES AND LOVE EACH OTHER.

THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICS AND FAMILY.

AND WHAT YOU DO INSIDE, AT YOUR DINNER TABLE, IS ABSOLUTELY CONNECTED TO THE HEADLINES AND TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO HAVE A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP OVER CIVIC LIFE AND THEIR ROLE IN THE WHOLENESS IF YOU WILL.

>> BRANDEN JACOBS-JENKINS, A PLAYWRIGHT FOR "PURPOSE," THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.

IT WAS SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME THANK YOU SO MUCH.