Elizabeth A. M. Keel

Elizabeth A. M. Keel

Elizabeth A. M. Keel is a Houstonian playwright, director, actress, dramaturg, producer, screenwriter, and novelist. Her plays have been read or produced by 14 Pews, Bootown, Cone Man Running, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Flexible Grey, Fresh Produce’d (NYC), The Growing Stage: Children’s Theatre of New Jersey, Haven Arts Theatre, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Landing Theatre Company, METDance, Mildred...
Elizabeth A. M. Keel is a Houstonian playwright, director, actress, dramaturg, producer, screenwriter, and novelist. Her plays have been read or produced by 14 Pews, Bootown, Cone Man Running, Eclectic Full Contact Theatre, Flexible Grey, Fresh Produce’d (NYC), The Growing Stage: Children’s Theatre of New Jersey, Haven Arts Theatre, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Landing Theatre Company, METDance, Mildred's Umbrella, Nova Arts Project, Otherworld Theatre Company, Shattered Globe Theatre, Squeaky Bicycle, Stages, The Studio Theatre at Tierra Del Sol, T.E.T.A., This Is Water Theatre, Tokyo International Players, Voxfest, and Wordsmyth, among others. She has published two novels: RUNNING INTO TROUBLE and LIFE AFTER MYTH. Some of her plays have been published by Smith & Kraus and Stage Partners. She currently works as a teaching artist for Grackle & Grackle and Stages. She is proud to serve as the Resident Playwright and Literary Manager for Mildred's Umbrella. Her play OVERRIDE won the second-place Neukom Institute Literary Arts Award. She is a double alumna of the University of Houston, where her graduate thesis encouraged the development of more meaningful science fiction onstage.

Plays

  • Tooth & Tail
    AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING via Stage Partners at: https://www.yourstagepartners.com/products/tooth-tail

    Tooth & Tail is a fantastic swashbuckler that explores the dynamics of female friendship and love. When Princess Plumeria is kidnapped, Vixen LaFey and her dragon Flicker are determined to rescue her – and bring her home for the reward money. But along the way, they must face pirates, a witch...
    AVAILABLE FOR LICENSING via Stage Partners at: https://www.yourstagepartners.com/products/tooth-tail

    Tooth & Tail is a fantastic swashbuckler that explores the dynamics of female friendship and love. When Princess Plumeria is kidnapped, Vixen LaFey and her dragon Flicker are determined to rescue her – and bring her home for the reward money. But along the way, they must face pirates, a witch who won’t stop rhyming, curses, and monsters of all kinds. Their combined strengths, loyalties, and magics are tested to the hilt. From the dazzling dangers of the forests, to the deep rivalry between Vixen and Pirate Captain Jessica Glass, Tooth & Tail is a heartwarming theatrical feast that speaks to the imagination in all of us.
  • Override
    Louise is a student at the prestigious Academy of Invention, attempting to construct a machine that can emulate human touch. But when her prototype goes haywire, she has to turn to her biggest competition for help: her roommate Grav, who works on popular, commercial, food-based inventions. As the night evaporates around them, they race to solve the bugs in Louise's machine. They must also face the ethics...
    Louise is a student at the prestigious Academy of Invention, attempting to construct a machine that can emulate human touch. But when her prototype goes haywire, she has to turn to her biggest competition for help: her roommate Grav, who works on popular, commercial, food-based inventions. As the night evaporates around them, they race to solve the bugs in Louise's machine. They must also face the ethics of their invention, when Grav's mother Mira orders one of her own. Override is a sweet sci-fi romantic comedy, and a reminder of the power of contact through the body, heart, and mind.

    First developed as a one-act microplay performed in people's homes in Houston by Landing Theatre Company, Override was later expanded into a full-length play. The full length version has not yet had its world premiere.
  • Ariadne
    Ariadne is a darkly lyrical, sci-fi reimagining of the myth of the Minotaur.

    Captain Ariadne Minos must ferry the latest fourteen tributes to her home planet of Crete, where they will be fed as sacrifices to a fearsome bull. On the journey, she makes a surprise connection to two of her more forceful passengers: the headstrong prince Theseus, and Pneuma, a Healer who is outraged to face death...
    Ariadne is a darkly lyrical, sci-fi reimagining of the myth of the Minotaur.

    Captain Ariadne Minos must ferry the latest fourteen tributes to her home planet of Crete, where they will be fed as sacrifices to a fearsome bull. On the journey, she makes a surprise connection to two of her more forceful passengers: the headstrong prince Theseus, and Pneuma, a Healer who is outraged to face death with her medical education incomplete. However, as the spaceship nears its final destination, Ariadne must weigh the comfort of her new friends against family loyalties which have haunted her across the galaxy. The time has come for her to reconcile between monsters, gods, and men.

    ***Previously produced under the title Corona; altered out of respect to those affected by the subsequent pandemic.
  • Deborah: The Mostly True Tale of a Revolutionary Woman
    This play is a feisty re-imagining of the life of Deborah Sampson, a real woman who dressed as a man and fought in the Revolutionary War. What happens when your true love is a life under fire? As she straddles the realms of both genders, Deborah embodies mother and warrior, loner and celebrity, wild rover and wife. This rebellious drama embodies her lifelong quest to discover how restless hearts can truly belong.
  • Break
    It is the Friday before Spring Break at Margaret Cavendish High School, and Principal Bough and her teachers would very much like for the day to end. Unfortunately, following an unwise affair in the moonlight with the meadow next door, dark fairies and their Queen have now infiltrated the school. In this fantastic race to the bell, a handful of overwhelmed and exhausted educators are the last line of defense...
    It is the Friday before Spring Break at Margaret Cavendish High School, and Principal Bough and her teachers would very much like for the day to end. Unfortunately, following an unwise affair in the moonlight with the meadow next door, dark fairies and their Queen have now infiltrated the school. In this fantastic race to the bell, a handful of overwhelmed and exhausted educators are the last line of defense between their teenage charges and the feral wellspring of seasonal magic.
  • Cherry Muffins: A Demon Play
    Loreliar is a sex demon. She comes from a long and illustrious line of succubi. But when she suddenly quits the family business to open a modest coffee shop, her shocked siblings are forced to investigate. They rise up from Hell to discover that their kid sister has committed the ultimate fiendish taboo, and fallen in love with a mortal man! Havoc reigns as angels, demons, and baristas juggle love, loyalty,...
    Loreliar is a sex demon. She comes from a long and illustrious line of succubi. But when she suddenly quits the family business to open a modest coffee shop, her shocked siblings are forced to investigate. They rise up from Hell to discover that their kid sister has committed the ultimate fiendish taboo, and fallen in love with a mortal man! Havoc reigns as angels, demons, and baristas juggle love, loyalty, holy pink pastries, and caffeine.

    http://www.houstonpress.com/arts/the-devil-is-in-the-details-in-the-latest-by-houston-playwright-elizabeth-am-keel-8203759
  • Awesome Possum
    TEN MINUTE PLAY: Amy, a vet tech who frequently rescues animals that would otherwise be hopeless causes, is joined by her boss Dr. Roman after hours in the clinic. She’s brought in a new creature for them to look at, which might be just the thing to free them from their grief.

    To be published in The Best Short Plays of 2023 from Smith & Kraus.
  • Missives
    TEN MINUTE PLAY: At the beginning of time, two messengers are snowed in together on their way to deliver missives from the Beings to the humans. However, the curiosity that goads them to read the messages has a high cost.
  • The Canterville Ghost
    In this hour long, one-act adaptation of Oscar Wilde's ebullient short story, the Otis family moves into Canterville Chase. Their effervescent American charm grates on Sir Simon de Canterville, the resident ghost who does his level best to terrify Hiram, Lucretia, and their sons right back out again. But he cannot show quite the same ire towards their daughter Virginia, who might be the very girl prophesied to save his tormented soul.
  • Puss in Boots
    Puss In Boots is a hilarious re-imagining of Charles Perrault's classic French tale with an English-Spanish bilingual twist! Sam Carabas is distraught to inherit only a cat from his father's estate. But this is one kitty that just won't quit – not until she gets herself a velvet cushion! This frolicking comedy reminds us that with innovation, teamwork, and the right of pair shoes, anything is possible.