Katherine Gwynn

Katherine Gwynn

Katherine Gwynn (they/them) is a non-binary queer woman, CODA, and Chicago playwright who writes about the mythic and violent spaces between gender, disability, and the divine. Gwynn is the winner of the 2022 UCROSS + The Blank Theatre – Future of Playwriting Prize and a 2023 Venturous Fellowship Nominee. Gwynn also won the 2015 Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Award and Second Place for the EMOS Ecodrama...
Katherine Gwynn (they/them) is a non-binary queer woman, CODA, and Chicago playwright who writes about the mythic and violent spaces between gender, disability, and the divine. Gwynn is the winner of the 2022 UCROSS + The Blank Theatre – Future of Playwriting Prize and a 2023 Venturous Fellowship Nominee. Gwynn also won the 2015 Jane Chambers Student Playwriting Award and Second Place for the EMOS Ecodrama Playwrights festival 2022. Their work has been developed and produced by Flint Rep, Jackalope Theatre, The New Coordinates, The Great Plains Theatre Conference, the Terra Femina Collective, Commission Theatre, The Fishtank, and Rockhurst University. Gwynn has been a 2024 American Blues Blue Ink Award Semi-Finalist, a 2021 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist and 2x Semi Finalist, 2021 Playwrights Realm Scratchpad Series Finalist, a 2x Bay Area Playwrights Festival Finalist and 4x Semi-Finalist, a 2020 Parity Productions Commission Finalist, a 2020 Story Theatre Resident Playwright Semi-Finalist, a 2019 Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship Semi-Finalist, a 2x Ashland Play Festival Semi-Finalist, a 2x New Works Festival at Kitchen Dog Theater Finalist, a 2019 LezPlay Finalist, and a 2x invited Submission for the Humana Festival of New American Plays.

Plays

  • We Tell Each Other Stories by Katherine Gwynn
    Cast: 
    6–15
    ·
    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: Sisters, the Fates + 4 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: Sisters, the Fates, greek myth, LGBT, existential comedy, the weird sisters
    Maire spins the thread, Mara measures the thread, and Moira cuts the thread: these are the sisters' roles and have been since before they knew what memory, or an oat milk latte, was. But when they lose a thread on the way to delivering it to a not yet born Hero, they have to run through space and time and possibility to try to get back on track. Otherwise, they might have to choose their own fates, and...
    Maire spins the thread, Mara measures the thread, and Moira cuts the thread: these are the sisters' roles and have been since before they knew what memory, or an oat milk latte, was. But when they lose a thread on the way to delivering it to a not yet born Hero, they have to run through space and time and possibility to try to get back on track. Otherwise, they might have to choose their own fates, and well--that's a reality they're not ready to traverse.

    A play about sisters, fate, piles of threads, and what it means to tell a story.
  • Only The Witch Will Burn by Katherine Gwynn
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 4 more
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    Keyword: witchcraft, Deaf lead + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, fantasy, horror, movement/physical
    Keyword: witchcraft, Deaf lead, queer lead, ASL, two hander, cycle of abuse, demon
    Praise-God and Fear-God have accused each other of witchcraft. Praise-God and Fear-God are awaiting trial in a jail cell. Praise-God and Fear-God are mother and daughter, trying to survive, while something dances around a fire in the dark.

    A two-hander about witchcraft, demons, motherhood, daughterhood, the cycle of abuse--and breaking the chains that link it.
  • Until the Sun Dies by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: trans, queer + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: trans, queer, science, tardigrades, science play, one act play
    20 MINUTE: quantum entanglement, a physicist, two tardigrades, and a phone that keeps ringing--or, a play about queer and trans survival, and how to move beyond survival.

    commissioned by Jackalope Theatre company for their Living Newspaper Festival 2022
  • Mother Of by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: abortion, abortion rights + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, immersive
    Keyword: abortion, abortion rights, reproductive freedom, queer, LGBTQ, Non-Binary, trans, feminist, Catholicism
    Marian is visited by a Marian Apparition (just call her Mary, thanks) who tells them to write a play about the Blessed Virgin considering an abortion. Miryam is visited by the angel Gavri'el, who tells her she's to bear the son of God. And pomegranates keep fruiting up all around, asking them to choose.

    A play about abortion, divine visions, mommy issues, daddy issues, the inherent...
    Marian is visited by a Marian Apparition (just call her Mary, thanks) who tells them to write a play about the Blessed Virgin considering an abortion. Miryam is visited by the angel Gavri'el, who tells her she's to bear the son of God. And pomegranates keep fruiting up all around, asking them to choose.

    A play about abortion, divine visions, mommy issues, daddy issues, the inherent homoeroticism of Catholic Ritual, iced coffee, and above all--choice.
  • All I Wanna Do Is Be Pretty Like You by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: male gaze, female gaze + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, horror
    Keyword: male gaze, female gaze, metatheatrical, surveillance, teenage girls, queer, trans, beauty pageants
    A group of twenty something actors are trying to perform as a group of abducted teenage girls who are trying to perform as a group of pageant contestants so that one of them can be awarded the crown by their Director--and be set free.

    A play about performing womanhood, goodness, and trauma for the male gaze, and the blurred lines between desire and abduction, fantasy and reality, and violence and beauty itself.
  • Now, More Than Ever, "The Seagull" by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: satire
    ·
    Keyword: satire, American Theatre + 5 more
    Genre: satire
    Keyword: satire, American Theatre, chekov, The Seagull, bold, new, brave
    10 MINUTE: A Bold New Brave Ensemble tries to put on a Russian Play to show what American Theatre is all about--now, more than ever.
  • Marginalia by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic + 3 more
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    Keyword: faith, medieval + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic, drama, period, romantic comedy
    Keyword: faith, medieval, Marginalia, monastery, Catholic, Catholicism, queer, trans, mysticism, Jewish
    A medieval scriptorium in the 14th century. A girl who has visions who wants to read Sappho. A boy with a secret who wants to make books. Two monks who spend their days among words but can't seem to talk straight to one another . A wealthy widow who wants to build something that outlasts her. And an Abbott who likes to kneel.

    A play about faith as an act of creation, creation as an act of...
    A medieval scriptorium in the 14th century. A girl who has visions who wants to read Sappho. A boy with a secret who wants to make books. Two monks who spend their days among words but can't seem to talk straight to one another . A wealthy widow who wants to build something that outlasts her. And an Abbott who likes to kneel.

    A play about faith as an act of creation, creation as an act of faith, and building the life you want out of the margins.
  • Funny, Like HAHA. (or, A Play About A Rape Joke) by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 9
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: rape jokes, comedian + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, horror, mystery/thriller, political, satire
    Keyword: rape jokes, comedian, comedy, sexual assault, white women, rape culture, feminism, White Feminism, misogyny
    Lily Schuttman is in her dressing room, preparing for her first taped comedy special, when her friend Erin Li comes in demanding answers. See, Erin’s wondering why Lily spoke to the Times defending Joe Ainsley. Joe's a self-identified male feminist, comedy mentor to Lily—and the man Erin’s accused of sexually assaulting her. After a tense fight that goes nowhere, Erin gets ready to walk out of Lily's...
    Lily Schuttman is in her dressing room, preparing for her first taped comedy special, when her friend Erin Li comes in demanding answers. See, Erin’s wondering why Lily spoke to the Times defending Joe Ainsley. Joe's a self-identified male feminist, comedy mentor to Lily—and the man Erin’s accused of sexually assaulting her. After a tense fight that goes nowhere, Erin gets ready to walk out of Lily's life for good. And then the Rape Joke Lily was going to tell on-stage springs to life, trapping them all in the dressing room.

    A dark comedy about internalized misogyny, female friendship, white feminism, who gets to be heard, and who gets to be a joke.
  • An American Animal by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: queer, trans + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, fable/folktale, political
    Keyword: queer, trans, teenage girls, wolves, Western, guns, Yellowstone, African American and Latinx women, trans woman
    Chloe is a black girl who wants to be a wolf biologist when she grows up. Willa is a trans girl who’s trying to learn guitar to pass the time in Wyoming. Paz is a forest ranger, a woman who’s been watching the wolves for decades. The Hunter is a white man who wants to kill a wolf. And Jack is a jackalope who tries not to get shot. All five of them spend a summer in and around Yellowstone, watching the wolves,...
    Chloe is a black girl who wants to be a wolf biologist when she grows up. Willa is a trans girl who’s trying to learn guitar to pass the time in Wyoming. Paz is a forest ranger, a woman who’s been watching the wolves for decades. The Hunter is a white man who wants to kill a wolf. And Jack is a jackalope who tries not to get shot. All five of them spend a summer in and around Yellowstone, watching the wolves, waiting with bated breath until summer ends—and the wolf hunting season begins.

    A play about loneliness, survival, fear, and connection in America.
  • BoiToi3000 by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: romantic comedy, Deaf + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: romantic comedy, Deaf, ASL, android, Robots
    10 MINUTE: In the near future, a woman orders a sex robot--oh god. Oh no. She's ordered a sex robot.
  • Skin Song by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 15
    ·
    Cast: 
    5–8
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: Deaf, selkie + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, fantasy, movement/physical, verse
    Keyword: Deaf, selkie, LGBTQ, ASL, queer, deconstructed fairy tale, The Little Mermaid, dance, violin
    A woman is brought to shore. She cannot be heard. Her name is not Undine.

    In this loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, there is a Selkie who can dance but not speak, a Deaf woman who signs to the sea, a silent chorus, and a Lobsterman who hates being a Lobsterman. Incorporating ASL, shadow-voicing, projection, dance, and music, Skin Song is a play about being silent and voiceless and the...
    A woman is brought to shore. She cannot be heard. Her name is not Undine.

    In this loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, there is a Selkie who can dance but not speak, a Deaf woman who signs to the sea, a silent chorus, and a Lobsterman who hates being a Lobsterman. Incorporating ASL, shadow-voicing, projection, dance, and music, Skin Song is a play about being silent and voiceless and the difference between love and possession.
  • We Three Kings by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 5 more
    ·
    Keyword: christmas, disability + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, holiday
    Keyword: christmas, disability, Down's Syndrome, Depression, queer, LGBTQ, Non-Binary, Transgender, Catholic, mental illness
    It’s the night before Christmas, and three of the four King siblings—Mel, Bailey, and Caleb—are home for the holidays, playing drinking games to Bing Crosby’s dulcet tones while their parents are at midnight mass. But when they find a sorta-semi-maybe suicide note written by their eldest brother, James, who has Down's Syndrome—and a Star and The Angel crash into their living room—all 4 King siblings set...
    It’s the night before Christmas, and three of the four King siblings—Mel, Bailey, and Caleb—are home for the holidays, playing drinking games to Bing Crosby’s dulcet tones while their parents are at midnight mass. But when they find a sorta-semi-maybe suicide note written by their eldest brother, James, who has Down's Syndrome—and a Star and The Angel crash into their living room—all 4 King siblings set off through a journey into the night. In this loose, chaotic, and often times uncomfortable re-imagining of the biblical tale of the Three Magi, the Kings ride camels in gas station parking lots, perform before constellations, and confront their own wounds.
  • Portrait of a Woman's Tears by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    9–10
    ·
    Genre: comedy, fantasy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: motherhood, feminist + 7 more
    Genre: comedy, fantasy, political, romantic comedy
    Keyword: motherhood, feminist, LGBTQ, magical realism, emotional labor, queer, parenthood, queer women, Non-Binary
    Elaine has lost the ability to cry--but that's the least of her problems. See, there's Quinn, her newborn who won't stop criticizing her. Elaine's (ex) husband Nate is no help either, ever since he moved into the doghouse in the backyard to try to find his inspiration to paint again. Thea, the new nanny and a nude painting recently come to life, brings relief and trouble in equal measure....
    Elaine has lost the ability to cry--but that's the least of her problems. See, there's Quinn, her newborn who won't stop criticizing her. Elaine's (ex) husband Nate is no help either, ever since he moved into the doghouse in the backyard to try to find his inspiration to paint again. Thea, the new nanny and a nude painting recently come to life, brings relief and trouble in equal measure. And Peanut, the family dog, mostly tries to make sure Elaine has a drink in hand. In this absurdist comedy, art, gender, emotional labor, and motherhood are all explored as well as the question: what does it mean to cry for someone?
  • Big Bad by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 6
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Grimm's Fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood + 8 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, horror
    Keyword: Grimm's Fairytale, Little Red Riding Hood, domestic violence, feminist, Violence against women, shadow puppetry, ghosts, werewolves, magical realism, shadow play
    Ruby is a 13 year-old girl who met something Bad on the way to Memaw’s house. Now her Memaw is a ghost, her Daddy is trying to be a good man, her Mama is dead, and Ruby brings baskets of goodies to something that tried to swallow her whole, hoping for answers. With questions haunting her about blood, shadows, and family, Ruby has to learn what being a monster means--and what exactly she can, and won't, forgive.
  • Merely Players by Katherine Gwynn
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: Shakespeare, As You Like It + 7 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, period, political, verse
    Keyword: Shakespeare, As You Like It, feminist, queer, LGBTQ, sexual violence, trunk show, rape culture, magical realism
    All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players—but what does it mean to play? "Merely Players" catches Rosalind in the midst of her epilogue in As You Like It, only to then turn the spotlight on Phebe, the lowly shepherd girl who fell in love with Rosalind in drag as Ganymede. Taking place in a single night, "Merely Players" raises questions about sexuality, sonnets,...
    All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players—but what does it mean to play? "Merely Players" catches Rosalind in the midst of her epilogue in As You Like It, only to then turn the spotlight on Phebe, the lowly shepherd girl who fell in love with Rosalind in drag as Ganymede. Taking place in a single night, "Merely Players" raises questions about sexuality, sonnets, gender, violence, dead deer, and love. It’s a trunkshow with a trunk that’s more than it seems, a show where the men are played by women, and a chance for Phebe to discover what being a player—and being free—really means.