“I think the heart of this play is how do families continue to hold themselves together over many generations? I think that’s a question that many families are grappling with at this moment, and that families are always grappling with.” —James Ijames on Wilderness Generation for the Philadelphia Theatre Company website
“The heart of the play is how to continue to be a family even as the composition of that family changes. After seeing the play, I hope that people are compelled to reach out to their families—family they might feel disconnected from or estranged from. I think we need more examples of what reunion and being together looks like. ” —James Ijames on Wilderness Generation for the Philadelphia Theatre Company website
“The title is biblical in its origin. It’s a reference to the children born in the wilderness in the book of Exodus. I’m thinking of the generations born in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement. I’m curious about how we are doing and where we are going. We have inherited so much history of protest and progress, and this moment feels like so much of that is being eroded. The play is trying to look at these generations as characters. Each of the cousins at the heart of the play fall within Gen X, Millennial and a hint of Gen Z.” —James Ijames in an interview with Philadelphia Gay News
“We have been convinced that we must do life alone, that we are alone, and that’s just not true. You are not isolated. There is someone who wishes you well; there is someone who’s glad you’re alive, even if you don’t know it or believe it. That’s the thing I want all my work to remind people: You are not alone. And I think that’s powerful.” —James Ijames in an interview with Philadelphia Gay News
“If I wanted an audience member to take away a single moment or feeling, it would be that repair is possible. You can fix what is broken. It feels good to fix something. It is painful in the way that a really good jog is painful at a certain point and then it frees into something else.” —James Ijames on Wilderness Generation for the Philadelphia Theatre Company website