Addam Ledamyen

A Note from the Storyteller

I never thought about whether to become an artist or not, whether to write stories or not. By the time I was old enough to question it, the answer was obvious. All my brain ever wanted to do was shape my thoughts, hopes, and feelings about the world into stories, and then ideally to act out those stories on stage (or alone in my bedroom if nowhere else).  Later, I came to understand how stories – theatrically presented stories especially – have had such profoundly large impacts on the world all throughout history. I researched the inescapable bond between storytelling and the human brain and grew ever more entranced with the art.

I’ve grown up in an era of dystopian literature, a reflection of larger doubts about our worldly direction. We’re all terrified, and with good reason. While I certainly understand the dystopian trend, my creative interest is more in the better worlds we may be able to imagine and model in our stories. I believe there is an incredible responsibility on the part of storytellers to not only reflect to society its faults, but also to enhance its beauties and ideals, demonstrating what a better world could be like. Most often, I write of grand changes on small levels: the changing of one person’s mind or the emboldening of one person who had been scared to speak up. I like to write about those moments that can begin a revolution. Maybe one day I’ll be able to write about the result of those revolutions’ success. All of my work, often a combination of comedy and drama, is written in such a way that invites audiences to imagine new ways of thinking and empathize with types of people they may never have known.