Karen Saari

Karen Saari writes plays with themes of redemption, hope and humor in the face of obstacles. (And sometimes robots and witches.) Most of her work takes place in Michigan’s remote and culturally complex Upper Peninsula. Her plays have been produced by Playhouse on the Square (Memphis, as of July 11), Flint Repertory Theatre (Mich.), Music Theatre of Madison (Wisc.), Magnetic Theatre Company and more. Her work has been developed with The Bechdel Group, Broad Horizons Theatre, The Blank Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Forward Theater Company, Vintage Theatre, Valdez Theatre Conference and others. Her titles include BAD IN BED (A FAIRY TALE), IN A CLEARING, ‘RAIN ON FIRE, TRAGEDY SOUND, JOYLAND and TEN DAYS IN A MADHOUSE (book and co-lyrics). She is a three-time O’Neill semi-finalist, two...

Karen Saari writes plays with themes of redemption, hope and humor in the face of obstacles. (And sometimes robots and witches.) Most of her work takes place in Michigan’s remote and culturally complex Upper Peninsula. Her plays have been produced by Playhouse on the Square (Memphis, as of July 11), Flint Repertory Theatre (Mich.), Music Theatre of Madison (Wisc.), Magnetic Theatre Company and more. Her work has been developed with The Bechdel Group, Broad Horizons Theatre, The Blank Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Forward Theater Company, Vintage Theatre, Valdez Theatre Conference and others. Her titles include BAD IN BED (A FAIRY TALE), IN A CLEARING, ‘RAIN ON FIRE, TRAGEDY SOUND, JOYLAND and TEN DAYS IN A MADHOUSE (book and co-lyrics). She is a three-time O’Neill semi-finalist, two-time ATHE finalist, among other close calls and accolades. She holds an MFA in playwriting from Augsburg University and teaches theatre and speech at Madison College in Wisconsin.

Scripts

Champ

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

NEW PLAY--SEEKING DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Champ is highly-educated but has never set foot on a college campus. In fact, she’s never driven beyond the city limits of Kisser, Wisconsin. Riddled with student loan debt, she accepts a challenge from her dying grandfather. If she succeeds, she stands to inherit his lottery winnings and see the world--and herself--through new eyes.

NEW PLAY--SEEKING DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Champ is highly-educated but has never set foot on a college campus. In fact, she’s never driven beyond the city limits of Kisser, Wisconsin. Riddled with student loan debt, she accepts a challenge from her dying grandfather. If she succeeds, she stands to inherit his lottery winnings and see the world--and herself--through new eyes.

Her Guiding Light (10-minute monologue)

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

SOLO SHORT
Selected for Forward Theater Company's Guilty Pleasures Monologue Festival

A daytime soap fan shares why TV memories carry meaning for her during the holidays.

SOLO SHORT
Selected for Forward Theater Company's Guilty Pleasures Monologue Festival

A daytime soap fan shares why TV memories carry meaning for her during the holidays.

'Rain on Fire

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

SEEKING SECOND PRODUCTION
Wilde Award-Best New Play, 2024 (23-24 season, lower Michigan)
World Premiere, Flint Repertory Theatre, 2023

Marie comes home to plan her addicted mother Lorraine’s funeral. "Rain" left a surprising final wish for Marie and her sweet but troubled cousin Caleb, to fulfill together. They are to turn one of Rain's poems into a song performed at her funeral. Family secrets are revealed as...

SEEKING SECOND PRODUCTION
Wilde Award-Best New Play, 2024 (23-24 season, lower Michigan)
World Premiere, Flint Repertory Theatre, 2023

Marie comes home to plan her addicted mother Lorraine’s funeral. "Rain" left a surprising final wish for Marie and her sweet but troubled cousin Caleb, to fulfill together. They are to turn one of Rain's poems into a song performed at her funeral. Family secrets are revealed as Marie struggles with her anger and loss in this often funny drama set in Michigan's northwoods.

Tragedy Sound

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

UNPUBLISHED & AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION
World premiere, July 11-27, 2025, Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, TN
Semi-finalist, O'Neill NPC, 2024
Residency Award, Br!nk New Play Festival, Renaissance Theaterworks, 2024
Semi-finalist, Playwrights Realm Scratchpad Series, 2023

Three young women accept a dare and embark on a canoe trek on frigid waters. Dangerous conditions prevail and force them to reveal and face...

UNPUBLISHED & AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION
World premiere, July 11-27, 2025, Playhouse on the Square, Memphis, TN
Semi-finalist, O'Neill NPC, 2024
Residency Award, Br!nk New Play Festival, Renaissance Theaterworks, 2024
Semi-finalist, Playwrights Realm Scratchpad Series, 2023

Three young women accept a dare and embark on a canoe trek on frigid waters. Dangerous conditions prevail and force them to reveal and face the choices they've made and the trappings of life in their confining hometown.

Bad in Bed (A Fairy Tale)

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

RIGHTS AVAILABLE THROUGH NEXT STAGE PRESS
Semi-finalist, Princess Grace Fellowship, 2021

Charles’ third wife has just informed him she’s leaving. As he reels from the news and the reason she gives, he spends a weekend with his best friend Jack and their college friend Betsy, an up and coming author. Betsy, a former Wiccan, reveals a secret from their college days that could be the reason for Charles’ failed...

RIGHTS AVAILABLE THROUGH NEXT STAGE PRESS
Semi-finalist, Princess Grace Fellowship, 2021

Charles’ third wife has just informed him she’s leaving. As he reels from the news and the reason she gives, he spends a weekend with his best friend Jack and their college friend Betsy, an up and coming author. Betsy, a former Wiccan, reveals a secret from their college days that could be the reason for Charles’ failed relationships.

Can Betsy help Charles win back his wife? Maybe, with the help of a Finnish coven.

In a Clearing

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

SEEKING SECOND PRODUCTION
Rewritten/modernized since 2018 premiere (Magnetic Theatre Co, Asheville, NC)
Semi-finalist, Princess Grace Fellowship, 2023
Semi-finalist, O'Neill NPC, 2018
Finalist, ATHE Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting, 2018
Valdez (Last Frontier) Theatre Conference, Playlab, 2017

Mark is a newly recovering alcoholic living in his hometown of Carp Lake, Wisconsin. He's recently grown close to...

SEEKING SECOND PRODUCTION
Rewritten/modernized since 2018 premiere (Magnetic Theatre Co, Asheville, NC)
Semi-finalist, Princess Grace Fellowship, 2023
Semi-finalist, O'Neill NPC, 2018
Finalist, ATHE Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting, 2018
Valdez (Last Frontier) Theatre Conference, Playlab, 2017

Mark is a newly recovering alcoholic living in his hometown of Carp Lake, Wisconsin. He's recently grown close to Pam, a childhood friend who is back home following a family tragedy. As Mark copes with a life of sobriety, he begins having flashbacks to an event that threaten the life he is trying to rebuild. This play shares an intense but often humorous look at addiction recovery and loss, especially in the rural midwest.

Joyland (10-minute play)

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

UNPUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION
Audience Favorite Award, 4208 Group, Washington, D.C., 2021

Lorna is a young single mother who needs a job. When she applies for a retail gig at a Disney-like corporation, she is screened by an automated interviewer who is an android/princess with an agenda of her own. A human vs AI battle of wits ensues in this one-act comedy.

UNPUBLISHED AND AVAILABLE FOR PRODUCTION
Audience Favorite Award, 4208 Group, Washington, D.C., 2021

Lorna is a young single mother who needs a job. When she applies for a retail gig at a Disney-like corporation, she is screened by an automated interviewer who is an android/princess with an agenda of her own. A human vs AI battle of wits ensues in this one-act comedy.

TEN DAYS IN A MADHOUSE (full-length musical)

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

SEEKING SECOND PRODUCTION
NAMT Development Grant, 2020 (Music Theatre of Madison)

CO-WRITTEN with JENNIFER HEDSTROM. A musical reimagining of Nellie Bly's time undercover at Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum. In 1887 Nellie Bly infiltrated the notorious asylum and forged connections with several inmates, who were not insane at all. The stunt catapulted her journalistic career. This musical retelling examines the...

SEEKING SECOND PRODUCTION
NAMT Development Grant, 2020 (Music Theatre of Madison)

CO-WRITTEN with JENNIFER HEDSTROM. A musical reimagining of Nellie Bly's time undercover at Blackwell's Island Insane Asylum. In 1887 Nellie Bly infiltrated the notorious asylum and forged connections with several inmates, who were not insane at all. The stunt catapulted her journalistic career. This musical retelling examines the impact her stay had on Nellie's own psyche, considering trauma from her childhood. Originally written on commission for Music Theater of Madison. Contact playwright/co-lyricist for score perusal. Book & co-lyrics by Karen Saari. Music and co-lyrics by Jennifer Hedstrom.

Mornings with June

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

SEEKING DEVELOPMENTAL PRODUCTION
Semi-finalist, O'Neill NPC, 2022
Finalist, ATHE Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting, 2022
Finalist, Vintage Theatre Co New Comedy Play Festival, 2022 (Aurora, CO)

June is a once successful radio personality who has returned to her northern Michigan hometown after a series of personal and on-air disasters. Living with her mom, she grudgingly takes a job as a morning show host...

SEEKING DEVELOPMENTAL PRODUCTION
Semi-finalist, O'Neill NPC, 2022
Finalist, ATHE Judith Royer Excellence in Playwriting, 2022
Finalist, Vintage Theatre Co New Comedy Play Festival, 2022 (Aurora, CO)

June is a once successful radio personality who has returned to her northern Michigan hometown after a series of personal and on-air disasters. Living with her mom, she grudgingly takes a job as a morning show host at the town's radio station, shabbily run by the overworked Wilbert. June is also forced to collaborate with her high school tormentor, Melanie. As June struggles to start over, she may need make peace with more of her past--and herself--than she expected.

Gun Story (10 minutes)

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

Unpublished, AVAILABLE FOR SECOND PRODUCTION
World premiere, First Run Theatre, 2022
William Inge Play Festival, reading, 2022

Two parents of high school athletes meet and discover they have a connection through their kids. An offhand joke triggers a surprising reaction in this story related to the gun debate.

Unpublished, AVAILABLE FOR SECOND PRODUCTION
World premiere, First Run Theatre, 2022
William Inge Play Festival, reading, 2022

Two parents of high school athletes meet and discover they have a connection through their kids. An offhand joke triggers a surprising reaction in this story related to the gun debate.

EGG DROP, 10-minute play

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

Seeking development, work in progress

A group of teenage girls realize something is not quite right about their friend's recent behavior. But have they figured it out too late?

Seeking development, work in progress

A group of teenage girls realize something is not quite right about their friend's recent behavior. But have they figured it out too late?

Rockhound

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

SEEKING DEVELOPMENTAL PREMIERE
Workshop/reading, Shattered Glass Project, 2023

Rain, a lonely widow, has a growing addiction to painkillers and forms a close bond with her kind
but unstable nephew Caleb. Caleb, fighting his own demons, tries to help her cope with
her growing dependency and her grief. They both risk falling prey to the trappings of the
drug trade in their hometown. This play, punctuated with...

SEEKING DEVELOPMENTAL PREMIERE
Workshop/reading, Shattered Glass Project, 2023

Rain, a lonely widow, has a growing addiction to painkillers and forms a close bond with her kind
but unstable nephew Caleb. Caleb, fighting his own demons, tries to help her cope with
her growing dependency and her grief. They both risk falling prey to the trappings of the
drug trade in their hometown. This play, punctuated with humor, shares a look at the
opiate crisis in rural America, particularly Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Companion piece to 'Rain on Fire.

A Robot, a Clown and a Turban

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

(10-minute play) Spend a day in the life of a robot, a clown and their co-workers in an otherwise mundane office environment. This stew of oddballs will make you laugh and maybe even cheer as they prove that when we have to, anyone can find love and anyone can get along.

(10-minute play) Spend a day in the life of a robot, a clown and their co-workers in an otherwise mundane office environment. This stew of oddballs will make you laugh and maybe even cheer as they prove that when we have to, anyone can find love and anyone can get along.

Every Woman in the World

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

(Monologue, 2 min) A woman shares a bittersweet love story.
FINALIST: Faces of America Monologue Festival

(Monologue, 2 min) A woman shares a bittersweet love story.
FINALIST: Faces of America Monologue Festival

Burning for You

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

(Monlogue, 3-5 mins) A slightly dark but humorous look at quitting smoking. Told from an unusual perspective.

(Monlogue, 3-5 mins) A slightly dark but humorous look at quitting smoking. Told from an unusual perspective.

Only a Paper Moon

by Karen Saari

Synopsis

(Monologue, 3 mins) A high school principal fights their own appreciation for a good practical joke.

(Monologue, 3 mins) A high school principal fights their own appreciation for a good practical joke.