Howard L. Craft

My work primarily focuses on the African-American working class—their hopes, dreams, struggles and aspirations. It is influenced by current events, American history in general, and African-American history in particular. The rhythms and grittiness of Hip-Hop often make their way into how I structure a play. I create a dominant theme, which runs underneath the work like a bass line, then have my characters express various points of view on that theme. The structure is reminiscent of how different lyricists approach the same beat on a drum track. As a playwright, I am constantly asking questions about the world we live in through my characters and the situations in which they find themselves. I believe that if one digs deep enough into a particular perspective or way of being in the world, it is possible to discern knowledge of what is universal in human nature. I am a child of the Black Arts Movement. While I do not seek to replicate that work and steer away from the didactic, the idea of raising consciousness about issues that affect community through theatre is very important to me.