 Select works of art line the entrance of the unassuming home. Guests were met with a gourmet iteration of Cuba, long chewy strips of salted plantain tempered by creamy guacamole and spice meats on a stick. There is a buzz among the guests that suggests familiarity beyond the event. The charity is aptly named Friends of Carita Cubana as that is certainly the temperament of the company. A live band supplies a melodious score and when I mention Melinda everyone has a story, a reason they love her or her work. When Melinda arrives, many people want to speak with her. No doubt to catch up on becoming Cuba and see how their beloved playwright is doing. She is generous with everyone. When the live auction begins, she gives me a detailed background on the artists that she is particularly fond of before closing her eyes and speaking a hush prayer as the biddy receives whispering, Please, please, please let it go for what it's worth. When it came time to read from becoming Cuba, Melinda chose a scene between the two main characters, a male and a female. She went back and forth swinging her body from side to side in order to signify the different characters speaking. In her chosen movement, the identity challenge of becoming Cuba was suddenly and unexpectedly embodied. Her swaying back and forth gave life to the difficulties of defining Cuban identity that are examined in the play. It was a wonderful nod to both the event and a facet of Melinda's work. In terms of the residency, Melinda herself is carving out her new dual citizenship as a playwright in residence as well as a member of the Huntington Theatre Company staff artistically and operationally. She spent this year identifying the projects to which she can lend her voice as both a theatre artist and administrator. Those projects include expanding community outreach and inclusion, creating a Boston playwright colloquium, and conducting collegiate playwriting workshops all the while allowing herself plenty of dream time to nurture her next play.