Matthew Sowell

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.

Plays

  • love the skin right off your bones by Matthew Sowell
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: reunion, drama + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, horror, immersive
    Keyword: reunion, drama, horror, southern gothic, religion, Politics, haunted houses, immersive, one act
    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
    Cast: 
    5–7
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy + 6 more
    ·
    Keyword: A Christmas Carol, Family. Gay. LGBTQ + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, dark comedy, drama, fable/folktale, holiday, horror, immersive, political
    Keyword: A Christmas Carol, Family. Gay. LGBTQ, LGBTQ, magical queeralism, clash over religious beliefs, magical realism, comedy horror
    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...
    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
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: religion, religious cults + 5 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, horror, mystery/thriller, romantic comedy
    Keyword: religion, religious cults, christianity, paganism, fear of commitment, intimacy, gay romance
    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
    Cast: 
    8
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: American society and politics, gun violence in America + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political, satire, tragedy
    Keyword: American society and politics, gun violence in America, social media, public shaming, Gay and LGBTQ, american race relations, American college students
    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
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: liberal religion, faith + 7 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, faith-based, satire
    Keyword: liberal religion, faith, christianity, queer, zoom, Covid-19, progressives, shame, drama
    “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...
    “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.