kate mcleod

Kate McLeod is a playwright, lyricist, librettist author and former journalist. Kate writes seriocomic plays, often absurd but never trivial. Her plays have been performed throughout the northeast around the U.S., in London and Sri Lanka. Her work was performed at New Jersey Rep, New York Theater Winterfest and Emerging Artists Theatre and The Flea. She produced The First and Possibly Only Bacon Theatre Festival in New York City where One Weird Trick, a five-minute opera written by McLeod with composer Rob Hartmann debuted. 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 2021-22. 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 was invited to 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 serves on the board of The League of Professional Theater Women and The Overseas Press Club Foundation which awards 19 scholarship/internships to applicants 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:
Twitter: @girldriverusa
Facebook: Kate McLeod

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 barely knew what that was. I went on to receive a degree in theater. I did act. And then I had the dream. There it was on a proscenium stage--all laid out for me. Except I didn't have the ending. I wrote the play. I wrote the ending. I expanded the dream. I went deep into character. And that was it. I've worked as a journalist as well. Then, two and a half years ago, I told myself I'd written all the stories I wanted to write covering my beat. I could've written more but 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:
An Original Musical, A Docudrama, Rewrites

KEYWORDS:
​Woman, Equality, Historical, Environment, social disruption, radio plays, verse, musical, site-specific, social issue impact, racial justice, justice for all, humanity, absurdity