Not many fourth graders ask for a typewriter as a birthday gift. However, this was Debbie L. Metzler at age 9, and it was an early indicator of her life's path-one path at least. An educator, director for community theatre and playwright, Metzler has a commitment to creating scripts with strong and meaningful plot lines not only to entertain but also to create contemplation and introspection in her audience. As a middle-school English instructor for 15 years, she began writing plays in an effort to accommodate the unique needs of her middle-school drama department at St. Paul's School. Soon afterwards, one of her scripts ended up in the hands of a director at the Enchanted Playhouse Theater Company, where she has written and directed family entertainment, such as A Walk in the Woods (Pioneer Drama Service) and The Empty Pot (Dramatic Publishing), for the past eight years. Currently, Metzler is the performing arts department head at The Creative Center-an arts-based day center for the developmentally disabled in Visalia, Calif., where she writes and produces plays for adults with disabilities.