Miriam: Dear America, deals with an act of violence in a public high school, and the characters refer to past violence in U.S. schools. How much did places like Columbine inspire what you wrote?

Michele: Columbine is one of the most horrific examples of violence…but every incident, in every school, is a horrifying phenomenon. There is always a lot of attention given to the act itself. It’s painful, and it’s sensational with the media always asking, “Why?” But there are a whole lot of people behind these stories. I wanted to write about why people do terrible things…about what might drive someone to do something like blow up home room. And with young people, it’s a very different thing than with adults.

Miriam: When in your own life did you actually write this play?

Michele: I started it five years ago. It’s been an ongoing process of re-writing and it has taken the last two years to get it produced.

Miriam: What previous writing experience have you had?

Michele: I got my Masters in Dramatic Writing at NYU so I studied both playwriting and screenwriting. I am just not getting back to writing new screenplays. I love historical fiction, and I like New York history a great deal. One of my plays was about a murder that took place in New York in 1853.

Miriam: What was involved in moving Dear America, from script to stage?

Michele: Thankfully, Fringe accepted it…with FringeNY, you can have a relatively small budget and still get an audience. I met the show director Lauren Rosen through The Women's Project & Productions—a theatrical production company which focuses on female artists—and she put every ounce of energy into making it happen.

Miriam: What was your own involvement in the play production?

Michele: I was there every day, not just as playwright, but also as producer. It was really like a “grassroots” production. I had to work on booking rehearsal space, getting rehearsal space…and then I had to be there, too.

Miriam: How often did the cast rehearse?

Michele: We did workshop and rehearsal for four weeks, six days a week. It was a workshop because there were changes made to the script. With a new script especially, there are a lot of questions that come up. You know, I don’t understand why my character does this, or could you clarify or interpret that. It was a great opportunity, to work with them.

Miriam: Dear America, is largely about high school students, but there were audience members of all ages watching and enjoying. Did you expect that the play would reach so many different people?

Michele: I wanted it to. I don’t write for a particular age group…I don’t have an age target. It makes me very happy to look into the audience and see that range. Ideally, you want people to talk about what they’ve seen, and about what’s been going on. Violence is prevalent; teen response is the most intriguing to me. You know, you want teens to start thinking, “Why is there a metal detector in school?” I love when people have emotional responses, when they connect to a character. And it’s really a gift to have those people come to you and tell you their own stories. It’s beautiful.

Miriam: What sort of response have you heard?

Michele: There’s been a really positive response. It’s been quite moving to me, that people make an effort to tell me how much they really loved it. As a writer, for a long time you live in your own cave, doing your thing. We all work so hard and to have that pay-off—to have people of all ages responding with the same enthusiasm—is awesome.