i wish to live

A play by Jana Naomi Smith.

When a chronically ill writer notices alarming parallels between herself and the life of an iconic literary figure, she sets out to save her favorite playwright from their early death, hoping it will bring them both everlasting life. i wish to live is a semi-autobiographical exploration of a closeted Black queer writer's sincere yet nonsensical desire to save literary icon Lorraine Hansberry from her early and tragic death. Everything is true except for the things that are obviously not.  The play continues a vulnerable oral tradition famously attributed to the legendary playwright adrienne kennedy (Ohio State Murders). i wish to live is a meditation on grief, shame, mortality, and the Black feminist tradition. More than anything, the play is a call and response, a conjuring, a prayer, a love song, and finally, a healing balm.

In October 2026, The Quick Silver Theater Company hosted a reading in collaboration with the Dramatists Guild Foundation featuring Jasmine Batchelor (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone/Ethel Barrymore) and Jordan Hull ( The L Word: Generation Q, Crabs in a Bucket/The Echo Theater Company). In May 2025, the piece received its first exposure through a virtual reading featuring Hull and Caro Guzmán (Derecho/La Jolla Playhouse). The play has also been championed by Support Black Theatre.

A teaser clip from the virtual reading is below.