Wendy-Marie Martin

Wendy-Marie Martin

Wendy-Marie Martin is a playwright, dramaturg, and director as well as the Department Chair of the Undergraduate Theatre Department at Hollins University. She has a PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts & Theatre from Ohio University with a focus on intersectional feminist theatre and 20th/21st century women playwrights. She also has an MFA in Playwriting from The Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University. For over...
Wendy-Marie Martin is a playwright, dramaturg, and director as well as the Department Chair of the Undergraduate Theatre Department at Hollins University. She has a PhD in Interdisciplinary Arts & Theatre from Ohio University with a focus on intersectional feminist theatre and 20th/21st century women playwrights. She also has an MFA in Playwriting from The Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University. For over twenty-five years, Wendy-Marie has taught, directed, and performed in Europe and the U.S. Her work has been produced in Germany, The Netherlands, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Ireland, and the U.S . She has also been published by Smith & Krauss, Theatrefolk, and YouthPLAYS and is currently a resident playwright at First Look Buffalo Theatre Company. Wendy-Marie is a proud member of the Dramatists Guild, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), the American Society for Theater Research (ASTR), and the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA).

Plays

  • To Be a Starfish by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, experimental
    ·
    Keyword: mother daughter relationships, Attempted Suicide (none depicted) + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, experimental
    Keyword: mother daughter relationships, Attempted Suicide (none depicted), sexual harassment, feminist
    Growing up, Em’s Mama told her they were both starfish that had to return to the sea, but then she committed suicide and left Em on her own to figure out how to get there. Now an adult, Em decides to avoid her mother’s fate by leaving the men in her life behind and forging her own path—a choice that puts her on the wrong end of a gun whose bullet begins the longest day of her life. Will help from her maternal...
    Growing up, Em’s Mama told her they were both starfish that had to return to the sea, but then she committed suicide and left Em on her own to figure out how to get there. Now an adult, Em decides to avoid her mother’s fate by leaving the men in her life behind and forging her own path—a choice that puts her on the wrong end of a gun whose bullet begins the longest day of her life. Will help from her maternal ancestors allow Em break the cycle of oppression she’s inherited and set the women in her family free?
  • Breathless by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    10–12
    ·
    Genre: drama, young audiences
    ·
    Keyword: YA, running + 2 more
    Genre: drama, young audiences
    Keyword: YA, running, cancer, teen sexuality
    national finalist, John Cauble Short Play Award, KCACTF (2015)

    Three girls named Summer. Three races of discovery. If each runs hard enough, she just might find what she needs.
  • Rock Me to Sleep by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Recommendations: 2
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: cancer, death + 1 more
    Genre: drama, romantic comedy
    Keyword: cancer, death, bucket list
    Sunny, a young woman dying of cancer, is determined to ensure that husband continues to live after her death.
  • Just Sign by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Hazel is a widow *and a bit of a crazy cat lady) who refuses to back her taxes, causing IRS agent Tom to try desperate measures to bring Hazel into compliance.

    "A very clear set-up and a nice arc with two very much opposed people of different ages, genders, and stages in life coming to a sweet conclusion." - Peter Hall, Buffalo Rising
  • swim forever in the erne by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: drama, fantasy
    ·
    Keyword: Alienated teenager, body anxiety + 1 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy
    Keyword: Alienated teenager, body anxiety, Mother Daughter
    Mary is convinced her real mother is a Selkie who will come for her one day and take her back to
    the sea, until she learns that shedding your skin isn't as easy as it seems.
  • The Spot by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, science fiction
    ·
    Keyword: time travel, scifi
    Genre: comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: time travel, scifi
    Billie is a time traveller but not all of her friends believe her. At least not until the day her neighbor's afternoon walk offers Billie a perfect opportunity to search for the doorway to another dimension.
  • Mika's Oaisis by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: apocalypse, zombies
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: apocalypse, zombies
    "The only real valuable thing is intuition"...or is it?
    As far as Mika is concerned, the world was hit by a huge comet and the end of the world has
    arrived. Her husband, Rob, isn't so sure. Until Ashlin arrives to help them decipher the theory from
    reality.
  • A Mistress Called Science by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy, science fiction
    ·
    Keyword: science, women + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: science, women, genetics, reproduction
    If you want it done right, do it yourself.

    When the last male sperm donor dies before making his first (and final) contribution to science, the women who created him are forced to find another solution to ensure the future of their society.
  • STRUT by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: Gender Expression
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: Gender Expression
    It's time for the annual Women's Shelter fashion show fundraiser, but Adam has thrown things off track by convincing the board to have men model the women's clothing this year. Still upset by his trick, Chris is determined to make him pay. Little does she know that Adam has been taking runway lessons from top model, Andrej Pejic, and that, by the end of rehearsal, he'll be teaching her how to walk like a real woman.
  • The New Wife (originally published under Wendy-Marie Foerster) by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
    ·
    Keyword: marriage, feminist
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: marriage, feminist
    Sometimes marriage and motherhood last a lifetime. And sometimes until two weeks notice is given and the replacement is fully trained.
  • Everlasting Spring Break by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: natural disaster, adult women best friends
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: natural disaster, adult women best friends
    On an island in Indonesia three best friends celebrate their last spring break before graduating college. How could they know it would be their last?

    Faith, Harley and Marissa have been joined at the hip since freshman year of college. Now, just months away from graduating and heading in separate directions, they decide to spend one last spring break on an island in Indonesia to celebrate their...
    On an island in Indonesia three best friends celebrate their last spring break before graduating college. How could they know it would be their last?

    Faith, Harley and Marissa have been joined at the hip since freshman year of college. Now, just months away from graduating and heading in separate directions, they decide to spend one last spring break on an island in Indonesia to celebrate their bright futures. Unfortunately, mother nature decides to cut that future short.
  • Peenie Wallie Wishes by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: women, old friends + 4 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: women, old friends, lighting bugs, fireflies, peenie wallies, roles for mature actors
    An innocent afternoon of lemonade and female bonding ends with three old friends wrestling in the dirt over a little bug with a glowing butt.
  • Roadside Vigilante by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: vigilante justice
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: vigilante justice
    Martha has had enough. She is sick and tired of irresponsible drivers speeding through her neighborhood, ignoring the posted speed limit, and she's decided to do something about it. With her "borrowed" radar gun and her husband's 9MM Glock handgun, she hits the streets to teach the local punks a driving lesson and her husband a lesson about love.
  • Ben & Rita by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: agoraphobia, mature actors + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: agoraphobia, mature actors, adult romantic comedy
    Rita's desperate need for attention has driven away everyone she's ever known. Ben never got close enough to anyone to scare them off in the first place. In fact, he hasn't left his apartment in ten years. But when Rita & Ben's worlds collide, they are faced with a choice. Continue to live in fear or take a chance on love.
  • Reach: the musical by Wendy-Marie Martin & Elisabeth Weidner by Wendy-Marie Martin
    Cast: 
    20–50
    ·
    Genre: musical, young audiences
    ·
    Keyword: high school, college + 4 more
    Genre: musical, young audiences
    Keyword: high school, college, SAT, college application, stress, pressure
    It’s senior year and Alexis has one goal and one goal only… to get into Princeton. Her plan is simple. Achieve perfection, which she plans to do by joining every club, sport and socially aware activity available on campus while keeping a 4.5 GPA; scoring perfectly the SAT & ACT; and writing the ultimate college essay. As the stress begins to take its toll, her inner voices battle to see who will send her...
    It’s senior year and Alexis has one goal and one goal only… to get into Princeton. Her plan is simple. Achieve perfection, which she plans to do by joining every club, sport and socially aware activity available on campus while keeping a 4.5 GPA; scoring perfectly the SAT & ACT; and writing the ultimate college essay. As the stress begins to take its toll, her inner voices battle to see who will send her down the best path, while her two best friends plan an intervention to save her from herself.