The things we’re teaching the kids we’re working with, or what we want to teach them, eventually, is how to pretend to be somebody you’re not. That’s what actors do, so it’s foundational to theatre. And it’s a hard concept for little kids to learn. Little kids are just starting to get a handle on being an individual. They don’t even know who they are yet. And here we’re asking them to differentiate between themselves and other people.

It’s a good age for it too, though, because they can be very critical, I’ve noticed. Very specific about their differences. Maybe it’s because they are learning to think of themselves as separate people...so in that sense, our work is fitting right in with where they are, developmentally. “No, she doesn’t like orange.” “Well, he wants to get in line for dinner first, because we’re having mac and cheese, and he loves mac and cheese.” They are always willing to make judgments for each other, speak for one another. “She doesn’t want to be the leader.” “She wants to be the guesser.” And so on.

It’s a good thing for me to be trying to think about as a writer, this idea of how to differentiate between yourself and other people. A writer is a lot like an actor, in some fundamental way. You have to know how to get inside somebody totally unlike yourself. There are of course writers who just write endless copies of themselves, but a novel or even a short story that’s just peppered with clones isn’t very interesting, to me. The stories I am proudest of are the ones that (successfully, to some degree) explore characters very different from me.

So how do I get into the skin of someone unlike me? How do I approach someone worried about aging, for example? (Do you find an angle – like keeping your skin looking young? Investigate skin care medication like Prevage MD? Watch “keep your skin youthful” Clearasil ads and try to feel like they speak to me? Try a Clarisonic for a week?) How do I write in a male voice? (Should I know what it feels like to walk around in masculine clothing? Imagine sleeping with a woman? Watch movies where things explode?)

Coming up with ways to get little kids to do this stuff helps you think of ways to help yourself do it.