It's like parenting in a way - standing back and letting go. Speaking of parenting, you two now have a baby. Are you enjoying your latest production? How's the juggling act going?
It's fabulous! Her name is Sadie Magnolia and she's ten months old. She's a dream baby--amazing temperament, great sleeper, loves everyone. We're used to collaborating, so collaborating with Sadie is working out great. And we're lucky that in our business we often have very flexible schedules and work out of the house a lot of the time, so we're able to both work, share the parenting 50-50 and both be around for her a lot.
How lucky you are! Enjoy every minute! In all the excitement, we never talked about why you decided to write a book about how The Exonerated came about. I'd like to hear about it now, if you don't mind.
Our editor, Greer Hendricks, came to see the show Off-Broadway; our program note told a little bit of the story of the play's creation, and she thought there might be potential for a book. We met and told her the story in full and she thought it should definitely be a book! At the same time, Erik and I had uncovered so much information in our research for "The Exonerated"--and interviewed so many more exonerees than would fit in the play, all of them with stories that had profoundly changed our lives and our thinking. Our play was only 90 minutes, so there was so much more important information than could ever fit in the script--information that we desperately wanted to put out there in some form. So a book seemed like the perfect way to do it.
Anything else you'd like to add before we wrap up?
I think you pretty much covered it! It's important to remember that this is an ongoing issue- systemic reforms that would help prevent wrongful conviction have, for the most part, not been implemented; so even when the issue is not in the news, the epidemic of wrongful conviction persists. It's important for folks to know this and to keep pushing for reforms that would close the gap between the way our legal system is laid out in the Constitution and how it plays out in reality; unfortunately, they are not always one and the same.
Sad but true. Thanks so much for talking with me again. It's been a pleasure.
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Get a copy of Living Justice
The Exonerated website
Original NYTimes review by Ben Brantley
Awards
2003 Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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