Matthew Sowell

Matthew James Sowell is a playwright based in Atlanta, Georgia.
He graduated with an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2018. He’s a proud member of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble in New York City and the Dramatists Guild. With roots in South Georgia, his work often reflects southern gothic themes and asks questions about the queer soul in a religious space.

Matthew James Sowell is a playwright based in Atlanta, Georgia.
He graduated with an MFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2018. He’s a proud member of the Phoenix Theatre Ensemble in New York City and the Dramatists Guild. With roots in South Georgia, his work often reflects southern gothic themes and asks questions about the queer soul in a religious space.

Scripts

love the skin right off your bones

by Matthew Sowell

Synopsis

Four ex-evangelicals gather in a tiny apartment forced into the bowels of an old house in Savannah to catch up and fight about god. But something is with them, just over there. Something they've created. In the shadows. It's here.

Four ex-evangelicals gather in a tiny apartment forced into the bowels of an old house in Savannah to catch up and fight about god. But something is with them, just over there. Something they've created. In the shadows. It's here.

Carol for a New South

by Matthew Sowell

Synopsis

Sanctuaries are holy places; the border between worlds barely exists. Trapped in his church by a once-in-a-decade snowstorm, Pastor Ebenezer McCoy sinks from the world of the living to the place that comes next as he’s haunted by his past in the near total darkness of a long winter’s night. Loosely based on A Christmas Carol,
Carol For A New South is a theatrical ritual to transition from the darkness of Autumn...

Sanctuaries are holy places; the border between worlds barely exists. Trapped in his church by a once-in-a-decade snowstorm, Pastor Ebenezer McCoy sinks from the world of the living to the place that comes next as he’s haunted by his past in the near total darkness of a long winter’s night. Loosely based on A Christmas Carol,
Carol For A New South is a theatrical ritual to transition from the darkness of Autumn to the candle-lit glow of the holiday season.

god left when He left

by Matthew Sowell

Synopsis

A dark web kink forum sends Whitaker Wainwright down a rabbit-hole of desensitization and devilish ecstasy.
It’s a place where fact becomes fiction. Where truths are dissolved into something far more liberating.
But no pleasure lasts forever, and the harsh consequences of Whitaker’s life on the web reconstruct a reality that he must face, offline, in the light of day.

A dark web kink forum sends Whitaker Wainwright down a rabbit-hole of desensitization and devilish ecstasy.
It’s a place where fact becomes fiction. Where truths are dissolved into something far more liberating.
But no pleasure lasts forever, and the harsh consequences of Whitaker’s life on the web reconstruct a reality that he must face, offline, in the light of day.

Ignominious (or the Public Shaming of Katrina Buras

by Matthew Sowell

Synopsis

When Katrina Buras unintentionally posts something racist on Twitter, the social order of Frances University is thrown into chaos as she is publicly shamed online and in-person. However, the incident erupts into a tragedy that forces those involved to face an even bigger controversy.

When Katrina Buras unintentionally posts something racist on Twitter, the social order of Frances University is thrown into chaos as she is publicly shamed online and in-person. However, the incident erupts into a tragedy that forces those involved to face an even bigger controversy.

Babbel (a drama for Zoom)

by Matthew Sowell

Synopsis

“This feels Holy”
Following a scandal that shattered the trust of its congregation, Jude McCombs is hired by The Mission – a trendy church in Little Five Points, Atlanta – to represent a new era of Christianity.
But when a pandemic shuts down the world and the core church staff discuss how to adapt, some members cling to fundamental beliefs. The play, which follows a real-time Zoom meeting to plan the first...

“This feels Holy”
Following a scandal that shattered the trust of its congregation, Jude McCombs is hired by The Mission – a trendy church in Little Five Points, Atlanta – to represent a new era of Christianity.
But when a pandemic shuts down the world and the core church staff discuss how to adapt, some members cling to fundamental beliefs. The play, which follows a real-time Zoom meeting to plan the first online worship service, becomes a battle for the soul of the American church.