The purpose of this anthology is not only to share nine plays by an extraordinarily talented playwright, but also to document his creative process as evidenced through his collaboration with other theatre artists. José Cruz González's diverse creative practices are made evident in the following biographical sketch of the playwright; Susan Mason's essay, in which she connects his personal outlook and experiences to the development of specific plays; and, finally, comments from his fellow theatre artists about their work with him.

Significant theatre is the result of creative collaboration between playwright, dramaturg, designers, director, and actors. The section titled "Collaborative Creation" is a collection of responses from theatre artists Corey Madden, David Saar, J. Richard Smith, and Graham Whitehead about their experiences in working with González on the development of new scripts for young audiences.

In the section "Considering the Design Process," the progression of González's play development as it affects production and as production affects the script is elucidated by designer J. Richard Smith, who demonstrates his own creative process through his comments and preliminary working sketches of settings for each of the nine plays of the collection.

The plays of magical realism and mature themes presented in this volume are the product of José Cruz González's imagination, playwriting ability, humanity, understanding and appreciation of the child audience, and enthusiastic collaboration with other theatre professionals, as you will learn within this collection.