Playwright Notes

NOTE: The following is the playwright's note I included in the program for the world premiere of my play THE IMPOSSIBLE TASK OF TODAY! Enjoy!

"My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there." – Jim Henson

Let’s be honest. Logging on to social media these days is like walking into a bar fight, but every few punches, someone shows you a cute cat video. And you laugh because it allows you to escape reality for a moment. Until an article is published exposing the cat’s questionable past. Everyone debates and rages and gets further divided. The cat’s publicist issues a half-baked apology. Some people cancel the cat. Other people celebrate the cat and have them on their podcast. Rinse and repeat. Day after day.

Despite all the ways we’re able to connect instantly, real empathy—the kind that makes people feel seen, understood, and valued—feels harder to find than ever.

Jack, our protagonist in The Impossible Task of Today, has stopped trying. He’s shut the world out completely, convinced there’s no reason to open the door. And for good reason. But the people around him—flawed, persistent, and silently suffering through their own trauma—keep knocking anyway. And that’s really what matters. It’s about the ways we reach for each other, the ways we fail, and the ways we try again. Because despite how messy or complicated human connection is, it’s still what makes the journey of life worthwhile.

You can’t fix the world. That’s an impossible task. But you can help fix your world.

The stranger in the grocery store. The coworker who always seems distracted. The friend who suddenly stopped texting back. We don’t know the silent battles the people around us are fighting. Maybe it’s grief that lingers long after the funeral. Or waking up every morning feeling like you’ve been running a marathon in your sleep. Or trying to push forward after a layoff, a breakup, or the weight of everything happening in the world. Everyone is carrying something heavy, and while we can’t always see it, we can choose to meet it with grace.

By showing up for each other, even when we don’t have the perfect words. We can listen, even when we don’t fully understand. We can offer kindness, even when we’re tired and frustrated. The smallest gestures—letting them go first in the checkout line, sending a funny meme about work, offering to meet up in-person—can be enough to pull someone back from the edge.

Empathy isn’t something we should sit around waiting for—it’s something we can choose to give. Even when it feels impossible, just trying is enough.