Kamarie Chapman

Kamarie Chapman

I am a playwright from the Pacific Northwest currently teaching the craft of play/screenwriting, dramaturgy, and film at Western Washington University where I have been for twelve years. My MFA was earned in 2009 with distinction from UNM. I was lucky enough to be one of the only fellows of the Drama League Playwrights (only lasted in 2008/9) and won two national awards for Deception Pass: An American Story (a...
I am a playwright from the Pacific Northwest currently teaching the craft of play/screenwriting, dramaturgy, and film at Western Washington University where I have been for twelve years. My MFA was earned in 2009 with distinction from UNM. I was lucky enough to be one of the only fellows of the Drama League Playwrights (only lasted in 2008/9) and won two national awards for Deception Pass: An American Story (a script you will not see here because it is hugely problematic) from The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Since that time I have written and produced a few new works (highlights: Ded Reckoning Musical, Another Mile, Bae City Rollers) and mentor at least one undergraduate through a national playwriting conference every year. I also mentor many others by creating summer writing opportunities and small residencies for undergrad writers here in the Pacific Northwest. I love collaborating with smaller companies and have with iDiOM Theater in Bellingham, WA for years. Usually I take the role of professor or dramaturg more often than of playwright. Currently I am the Vice Chair for the New Play Program in the same region.


Plays

  • Twenty Seven Ways to Say Goodbye
    A play in process; this is a draft as of mid(ish) May 2020.

    (CW: Self Harm, Mental Illness)

    Dad died. It happened and it sucks. And now the kids left are grappling with identity, place, and the oppression of a legacy of abandonment and disfunction. The story centers around Ari, a single-mother of a sixteen year old and her struggle with mental health, death in the family, and...
    A play in process; this is a draft as of mid(ish) May 2020.

    (CW: Self Harm, Mental Illness)

    Dad died. It happened and it sucks. And now the kids left are grappling with identity, place, and the oppression of a legacy of abandonment and disfunction. The story centers around Ari, a single-mother of a sixteen year old and her struggle with mental health, death in the family, and love of Dolly Parton.

    The play is designed as a collaboration with performers and producers to create a unique story that each group identifies with. Hopefully the message of loss and overcoming loss is universal.
  • Moonlight Ladies
    Sisters surviving and dying while experiencing homelessness. CW: still borne child, drug use, violence, addiction.

    This is a depressing ten-minute I wrote to get these two characters out of my head. They have been haunting me since I lived in New Mexico. I'm sure this short script is a total disaster, but it's kind of beautiful and hard too.
  • Bae City Rollers
    Working excerpt from 2020 script about Roller Derby and the beautiful humans that are a part of it. Concept of the piece is to create community collaboration and have theater companies reach out to their local derby community for dramaturgical support and possible casting.

    A play that celebrates all ages/sizes/cultures of femme and femme identifying individuals.
  • Ded Reckoning: A Space Adventure (Composed by S. Willows)
    Three astronaut sisters are lost in space and time trying to find their way back. This musical explores loss/grief, family dynamics, and living with AI.
  • Peaking
    Full length script (working) exploring the idea of Greek Goddesses being thrown from Mt. Olympus to the desolate high desert in New Mexico... their crime? Not needing Zues to please them anymore.

    Still a working draft. It's a mess. Quagmired in 2nd and 3rd wave feminism, it really needs an overhaul. But I love it and love the goddesses. I know with some time I can fix it. Just thought I'd share.