Each of us is a collection of stories. Stories the world has told us. Stories our family has told us. Stories our religion has told us. Stories our friends have told us. Stories we have told ourselves. If we change the stories, then we change ourselves. If we change ourselves, then we change the world.

Jacqueline Goldfinger is an award-winning playwright, librettist, dramaturg, and poet who grew up in rural North Florida with a love of music and storytelling. Her work has been produced on stages from The Kennedy Center in the U.S. to the Sydney Opera House in Australia and points in-between. She wrote the bestselling playwriting book, Playwriting with Purpose: A Guide and Workbook for Playwrights and runs the TikTok account Playwriting.With.Purpose which provides free resources to playwrights and play-curious writers. (You can access it here whether or not you have a TikTok account.) As someone who grew up in a rural area without access to theatre, she believes it’s important to empower creatives to tell the story they wish to tell without geographic or financial barriers.