I’m a full-time playwright writing (primarily) full-length plays. They all have strong women characters. My full-length plays—SISTER’S KEEPER, IS IT OVER YET?, DEATH VALLEY, CAMP WONDER, MOTHER YUCCA, LIMESTONE CITY, DADDY DUSTBALL, BABY BRAIN, SAY YES TO TOOTLEBRITCHES, THE MIND HAS LEGS, and REMEMBERING MACKIE LANDERSON—are on the New Play Exchange (along with some shorter plays). I’ve had short plays produced in several states. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I’m a member of the Dramatists Guild, Playwrights Circle (Albuquerque), Playwrights’ Platform (Boston), Playwrights en Masse (Lowell, Mass.), Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights, and International Centre for Women Playwrights. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website: http://vickimeagher.com
Twitter: @VickiMeagher
Facebook: VJMeagher

MORE ABOUT ME:
If I could bring one change to theater, it would be: more focus on producing plays by and about women. Women have made advances in the literary fiction world (which used to be dominated by men; women were relegated to genre fiction). Maybe it's time for women to make similar advances in the theater world. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:
Primarily: Writing a new full-length play called THE BOOK OF LEXIE involving the themes of abortion, rape, motherhood, New Ageism, Christian Evangelicism, and genealogy. Next major project: turning MOTHER YUCCA into a novel.

KEYWORDS:
​Women, Drama, Comic Drama, Paranormal, Political, Dark Comedy, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Afterlife, Religion, Spirituality

Gabrielle Fox is an award winning playwright. She won the award for Outstanding Playwriting, Overall Production and the Planet Activist Award in the Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in recognition of her fundraising efforts for the Alzheimer’s Association. Her play Hooters won the final slot in Playwrights for a Cause and was included alongside world premieres by Lucy Boyle, Migdalia Cruz, Catherine Filloux, Regina Taylor, and Lucy Thurber. Her play The Home was presented in the La MaMa New Playwright Marathon in New York. Her play The Second Coming will be included in The Best New Ten Minute Plays 2021 and was part of Dark Planet: Not Your Mother’s Valentine’s Day, in rep with Jose Rivera’s Lovesong (Imperfect). She teaches playwriting for Westchester Community College and the Young Author's Conference. She founded and produced the first women’s playwright festival in the Hudson Valley, Glass Ceiling Breakers, now in its 3rd year. She created the Theatre Revolution, LLC where local artists go global and is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild.

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Websites: https://www.gabriellefoxwrites.com/ AND https://www.theatrerevolution.org/
Facebook: theatrerevolution 

MORE ABOUT ME:
Why do I keep doing theatre? Writing is such a mysterious process and different for everyone. My best writing occurs when I can’t escape. Snow days, blizzards, beaches….pandemics? Places where the only escape from the call of the muse is the blank page (after the ritual procrastination of social media and Netflix). These situations make me daydream. Daydreaming. Not being alone. That’s what makes me write. I am not alone when I write. And theatre? Gah. To collaborate with storytellers, members of the tribe. And then to share stories and an experience with a live audience. There is nothing like it. I am never alone when I am creating theatre. Theatre saves lives. I’ve wanted to be a part of it from the first moment that it saved me. Each play I read, each show I saw had the ability to light a spark of identification, or humor, or escape or…something that kept me going. I am part of it now. I have the opportunity to contribute to the healing of whatever ails us on any given day but particularly now. That’s why I create. That’s why I am here. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:
I have several drafts that I'm working on. A full length play for an outdoor space that inspires me (and has never had theatre done in it...stay tuned!), a mock short play festival that takes on DEI disparities in the theatre world and beyond. And a complete overhaul of a full length play exploring, exposing and satirizing female stereotypes.

KEYWORDS:
​Political, Satire, Equality, DEI, Comedy, Drama, Dramedy, 10 minute plays, Full Length Plays, Zoom

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Emily Fitzgerald fled across the Red River to attend college at Trinity University (BA, 1995) which she followed, after three years bumming around Austin, with a graduate study in dramatic literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (MA, 2000). After six years teaching Drama and English at the high school level, she began participation in San Antonio community theatre as a director with “Theater ASAP” by the San Antonio Theater Coalition. In 2014 she penned her first original play, Someone Got Shocked, a collection of three short plays which she directed at the Overtime Theatre in 2015; it was later admitted into the Midtown International Theatre Festival. 2016 saw her direct the production of her first full-length play, Creatures of the Night, which won her an Alamo Theatre Arts Council Globe Award for Best Original Script. She has subsequently written full-length plays ranging from noir mysteries, to supernatural fiction, to fairy tales, to farces. She has written an audience-voting play with multiple story lines and adapted Twelfth Night. Her first play of 2020 was a one-act, Evil Scientists Love a Parade: Malevolent Monthly. Some of her other titles include HEX (2017), No Rescue Required (2018); And Then There Were Some (2019); and Drink Kale Love: A Farce about Theatre, Love, and Cruciferous Vegetables (2020). Her plays are comedic, even those more apt to be called dramas, and all deal in the families and communities we make rather than those we are born into. Mid 2021 sees her having written one full-length play, Battle Cry, a sequel to No Rescue Required; a handbook/memoir on directing; and a novella based in the world she first explored in Creatures of the Night. She lives in San Antonio with her husband and their two Yorkie daughters Maizie and Roo. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: Emily Fitzgerald
Twitter: @EmilyFitz0607
Instagram: emily.fitzgerald

MORE ABOUT ME:
The production of my first original full-length play, Creatures of the Night, opened in February 2016 and I was directing. Creatures is a noir mystery based on P.I. Annabelle Valentine, the violent loss of her partner and closest friend, and her confrontation with the criminal mastermind responsible for his death, the oddly named Natal Chaumbruss. Part of the play is set at “Joe’s,” a diner, where the kindly, older, cardigan-sweatered Joe is confidante and friend to all his customers. Unlike any other play of mine, this one produced constant audience reactions at every performance. The laughing, gasps, repeated lines, hoots, and commentary were so genuine, so participatory, that they became part of the show rather than a distraction from it. We introduced the idea of Chaumbruss right before intermission and he became THE topic. Arguments abounded about who he, or she, was, which character was secretly the Big Bad. Everyone had an opinion. My most gratifying moment in the theater came when Chaumbruss was revealed to be a suddenly British accented, nattily dressed Joe. I heard a woman in the audience slap her male companion and scream, “I told you it was him!” I was backstage, with the cast, and while they laughed not so quietly, I closed my eyes and bowed my head. I took my bow. I had many gratifying moments associated with that play – a local award, critical acclaim, audience comments to me, a loving cast - but that moment captured it all. An unknown woman was that invested in something I made. I’ve made other audiences laugh, I’ve shocked them, I’ve provoked them, but that woman’s reaction to Natal Chaumbruss’ identity was the best compliment I’ve ever gotten. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:
A sci-fi play. It's one genre I haven't managed to write in yet. 

KEYWORDS:
​Women, Disabled, Trans/NB, Queer, Inclusive, Comedy, Farce, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Adaptations, Fairy-tales, Alt. structures, Supernatural, Family, Community.

(UPDATED: 3/6/2024) Kate McLeod is a playwright, lyricist, librettist author, and former journalist. Kate's seriocomic plays lean into the absurd but are never trivial. Her plays have been performed throughout the northeast around the U.S., in London and Sri Lanka. Recently, her work has been performed at New Jersey Rep, New York Theater Winterfest, The Flea, The Secret Theatre, United Solo and Emerging Artists Theatre. She produced The First and Possibly Only Bacon Theatre Festival in New York City where One Weird Trick—Bacon, a five-minute opera written by McLeod with composer Rob Hartmann debuted and can be viewed on YouTube. She uses her knowledge and skills to assist at-risk girls in telling their story and has coached TED speakers to arrive at a talk that tells their story in an emotional and personal way. As a reporter Kate has worked at leading magazines covering health, automotive and travel. Her reporter skills inform her writing as a playwright. Currently, Kate is writing a musical with composer, Megan Cavallari. They are working toward a reading in 2024 with further development in 2025-26. In New York City, Kate has worked with The Lark, Ensemble Studio Theatre, America-In-Play,The Flea, Irish American Writers and Artists and Artists Without Walls. She became a member of the Kennedy Center Playwriting Intensive in June 2019 and continues to attend annually. She contributed to a two-week intensive led by Heather Christian at the Ancram Opera House in Ancram, NY and attended Steve Earle’s Songwriting Camp in Big Indian, NY. She has had playwriting residencies at Jentel in Sheridan, WY and Ledig House in Ghent, NY. She is on the membership committee of The League of Professional Theater Women and serves on the board The Overseas Press Club Foundation which awards 19 scholarship/internships to early career journalists who want to report international stories. A scholarships, for which she raised all funds, is named after her late husband, Jerry Flint. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
FB: Kate McLeod
Threads: girldriverusa
IG: girldriverusa

MORE ABOUT ME:
The question why do you keep doing theater is a poignant one at this time. Wasn't it always though? I remember telling my father--we were upstairs standing in the hall together--that I wanted to be an actress. I was five. I went on to receive an MFA at Catholic University and continued with my acting. Then I had the dream that changed everything. There was the story about four men in a halfway house in Troy, NY. I had read it in The Times but in my dream it was onstage. I saw everything that happened except I did not how it ended. I wrote the play. I wrote the ending. I expanded the dream. I went deep into character. And that was it. I was working as a journalist as well. Then, four years ago, I told myself I'd written all the stories I wanted to write, covering my beat. I want to bring stories to the stage and create a big life for them. For me, the theater has always been the place where I can do that. What do I do when I'm not writing? I'm thinking about writing. I'm a good collaborator. I try my best to be with people who are smarter, funnier, better in many ways than I am. So far, so good. But what does that say about me?? Don't give up on me. In fact, never surrender, never give up.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:
I Heart My Car, The Musical; a new play, a disruption--possibly immersive experience about Veterans returning.

KEYWORDS:
Equality, mystery, political, people of color, climate, environment, immersive/site specific, musical, period, historical, family.

I'm a speech therapist by day so I have always acknowledged and understood the power of words and language to connect people and reduced frustrations. I turned to play writing as a way of creatively using this understanding about language to try to influence and impact others’ What better way is there, in our current situation, then to impact others politically as well as socially? My work is meant to serve as a somewhat murky mirror held up to our society that says, “Look, see? This is what you are doing.” I draw inspiration from current events and let my mind wander to speculate “what if...” I love that theater takes a snapshot of a moment and digs down deep so that we can understand why people doing what they're doing and what results are being generated from their behaviors. I'm inspired by the dialogue of Lynn Nottage and the timeliness of Lucas Hnath. I appreciate the whimsy of Jez Butterworth's and the focus of character of Phoebe Waller Bridge. In literature, Neil Gaiman, Octavia Butler, and Leigh Bardugo are among my favorites for their world building skills. The evolution of my writing has revealed some consistent elements that include allegorical representation and political themes. The power of theater, or indeed of any story-telling form, is in the use of a single experience to tell a bigger tale. My characters are both themselves, having a singular experience and reacting to that experience in a specific way, but also are all of us, collectively navigating an absurd but veritable reality. I use this technique not to pass judgement, but to highlight what is happening around us, at this very moment, and warn of what our reality could be if we do not do something about it. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook: KimberlyLay Fraher

MORE ABOUT ME:
Why do I keep doing theater? I've experienced a few minor successes, sure. But I have more to say. And I'd like to expand into creating (and finishing!) a full length play. I explored my family's genealogy and I noticed that many times, the woman of the couple was listed as "NN," which means "no name." Of course she had a name--we just don't know what it was. How depressing--a full life lived to be forgotten except for the shadow of a few genes. I want to leave a legacy of a viewpoint, a perspective. I have something to say and want it to be heard past me. Even if my words are only discovered by my grandchild or great grandchild and don't get any further than that. I'm shouting into the darkness and am hoping there are ears in there to hear it. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:
I have about 4-5 full length plays that are creeping along, mostly forming (slowly) in my brain. A few have had the privilege of being typed out somewhat. Among these are "Rebel Play," "In the Bunker," and "Chester." 

KEYWORDS:
​Political, Immersive, Allegory

Evelyn Jean Pine’s plays wrestle with moments when life feels so new your hair is electric. A June Ann Baker Prize winner, a PlayGround Resident Playwright, and a Djerassi Alum, she writes about Queen Isabella, the Lumiere brothers, and Bill Gates at 20. THE INVISIBLE PROJECT, co-written with Katja Rivera, launched the Latinx Mafia's Staged Reading series this March 2021. Molecule LitMag just published her quick-fire climate change play, NORTH POLE BEDTIME. Fourth Wave on Medium publishes her poems.  Her one-woman play, FREELOADER IN THE HOUSE OF LOVE, won "The Most Compelling Story" award at the Boulder Fringe. In May 2021, PlayGround presented a ZOOM reading of her latest comedy, 7 SECRETS OF TEACHING ONLINE. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website:  http://www.evelynjeanpine.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evelynjeanpine
Instagram: evyyes
Twitter: @evypine

MORE ABOUT ME
I keep doing theatre because actors are remarkable, audiences are inquisitive, and the rest of us are crazy. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
A play about a tech tycoon who wants to save the world from climate catastrophe, global pandemics, and nuclear war, by resurrecting— through bioengineering — Sir Isaac Newton, mathematician, physicist, inventor, alchemist and, as the great man’s valet allegedly proclaimed upon his death, “vainglorious bite in the arse." I'm also cooking up a new play with the brilliant Katja Rivera. 

KEYWORDS
​Comedy, farce, history, family, myth, musical, joy, science fiction, radio plays, money, class, imposter, zoom play, technology, science, women, future
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LOJO SIMON is a polycreative writer, feminist and flamekeeper who works to foster radical empathy through writing, teaching, performing arts and service. Her professional roles include playwright, poet, dramaturg, teaching artist and Literary Laureate Emerita of Laguna Beach, California. She wrote the book and lyrics for Creede Repertory Theatre’s Young Audience Outreach Tours BEST FOOT FORWARD (2019), SEEDS OF CHANGE (2018), and ALBERT PORTER, BOY EXPLORER (2017). Her family-friendly works NICE & SLOW (Old Miner Playwriting Award), HERO ZERO, PLUM LUCK, GORILLA BALLERINA and HEARTLAND (w/Anita Simons, Dayton Playhouse FutureFest winner) all are published by YouthPLAYS. Other plays include RELIC, OR I WAS BUBBIE’S FAVORITE BY JOEL FEINMAN (Queens Theatre), ADORATION OF DORA (Idiom Theatre, KOLT Run, David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award), ONE FOOT (Idiom Theatre, Minneapolis Fringe, Salt Lake Fringe), MI CORAZON (Anna Zornio Award finalist, anthologized in Palabras del Cielo, Vol. II, forthcoming), J’OY VEY (w/Anita Simons, Queens Theatre, Trinity Street Players), and MOSCOW (Sam French OOB Festival, City Theatre National New Play Award, KCACTF Ten Minute Play Award, Best of Tribal Humor Festival, Heideman Award finalist). Lojo is a member of the Dramatists Guild, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas, and the New Play Exchange. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: http://lojosimon.com
Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @lojosimon

MORE ABOUT ME
I want artistic directors to know that familiar, lite, commonplace writing is not the only theatre that white people appreciate. Neither are BIPOC stories the only ones that people of color want to hear. Trust your audiences with innovative, challenging material from a variety of perspectives. Give many voices a chance to be heard. You have a powerful opportunity -- dare I say obligation -- to make positive change and encourage radical empathy in your audiences if you will be brave in your artistic programming. There are many mature female-identifying Honor Roll writers ready and willing to share our stories and insights if simply given the chance. Open your minds and hearts to us. We will not disappoint.

WHAT I'M WORKING ON
I am always working to be more authentic in my writing. At my age, I want to have the courage to tell my deepest truths, the hardest stories. 

KEYWORDS
Drama, comedy, solo, small cast, historical, political, biographical, art, social justice, TYA, Young Audiences, holiday, multicultural, Jewish, dramaturg, journalist


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