- When did you first discover theater/what was your first experience?
DK: I went to a preschool where one of the parents was an acting teacher, and she volunteered to do a preschool Shakespeare play. We did a preschool friendly version of the Scottish play - nuts, I know - and I played one of the witches! I got to do the famous cauldron speech and started it off with a really beautiful and apt, "Double, double toilet trouble."
- When/how did you become a writer? Is there a writer, show, or text that particularly inspired you?
DK: I was originally a performer, but I have a chronic illness and got sick my sophomore year of musical theater school and wasn't allowed to sing. In that time, I started doing a lot of sketch comedy and improv to fill my time, and I loved it! For my senior thesis, I wrote a musical for my class at UCLA and the rest is history!
- How do you describe your style/work?
DK: I think of my work as comedy with heart. I can be earnest to a fault, but with a background in sketch comedy, there's always a joke or two even in my saddest songs (even if they're only funny to me).
- What is most rewarding to you about writing music?
DK: My favorite thing is when performers tell me a song is fun to sing. I love theatre because of the joy it brings me and so I like to write things that inspire play and joy and creation.