In his own words, Shepard sought with this play to “destroy the idea of the American family drama”. But in his attempt to destroy the idea of the drama, he drew attention to the belief throughout the country that the American family had already been destroyed.

Indeed, pride manifests in Torch Song not as a feeling to be celebrated once a year but as a routine practice, a strength that Arnold and all queer people must regularly conjure in order to keep going in a world that is often hostile to their existence.    

Winnifred stands with nothing to lose, ready to sell her soul for, ‘more of the same’, as Elisabeth admonishes.

No agenda. No format. No workshop. Just a space to hang out with other writers and create.