It was a busy day for Kamala Harris; her Vineyard vacation was drawing to a close and she was pressed for time. Stopping for a television interview on her way to catch a flight to New York city, the San Francisco district attorney, who is running for California Attorney General in 2010, arrived hurried but not flustered. The lights snapped on, a cameraman mimed a countdown, and she was on; speaking with precision about crime rates, recidivism, and the California budget crisis.

Sitting down for a lunch break at a windowside table at Waterside Market in Vineyard Haven, Ricardo Khan leaned in comfortably and said with a laugh, “You’ll have to do the talking, I’ve got to eat!” His eyes brim with good humor; this is a man at ease with himself and the world around him. Small personal tales spill easily into the conversation, unsurprising for a playwright and director who has dedicated his life to the art of gathering individual stories and weaving them into narratives that speak to an audience from the stage.