Ren Powell

Ren Powell

Born in California, Ren has (somewhat) settled on the western coast of Norway. She’s published six full-length poetry collections, more than a dozen books of translations, and her playtexts have been performed in Canada, Norway, and the United States. Ren’s own work has been translated into eight languages.

Ren currently teaches at Vågen Upper Secondary School for the Visual and Performing Arts....
Born in California, Ren has (somewhat) settled on the western coast of Norway. She’s published six full-length poetry collections, more than a dozen books of translations, and her playtexts have been performed in Canada, Norway, and the United States. Ren’s own work has been translated into eight languages.

Ren currently teaches at Vågen Upper Secondary School for the Visual and Performing Arts. She has a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from Lancaster University (England), and a BA in Theater Arts from Texas A&M University (USA).

A member of The Norwegian Author’s Union, The Norwegian Guild for Drama & Theatre Instructors, and The Dramatists Guild (US), Ren also served as the International PEN Women Writers’ Committee representative for Human Rights from 2006 to 2008.

Ren’s work often explores connections between mindsets and landscapes—our inner and outer wildernesses.

Plays

  • Ripeness is All (An erasure/adaptation of King Lear) by Ren Powell
    Cast: 
    12–16
    ·
    Genre: adaptation, drama + 4 more
    ·
    Keyword: adaptation of King Lear
    Genre: adaptation, drama, movement/physical, period, tragedy, verse
    Keyword: adaptation of King Lear
    When Queen (King/Sovereign) Leir attempts to abdicate their royal duties, their
    actions are met with unexpected avarice and disobedience. Leir's
    wrath is unleashed, and their reason reaches its breaking point. In
    the ensuing chaos, Leir’s godchild Fallon finds themselves caught
    in a political storm that pits generation against generation and
    sibling against sibling....
    When Queen (King/Sovereign) Leir attempts to abdicate their royal duties, their
    actions are met with unexpected avarice and disobedience. Leir's
    wrath is unleashed, and their reason reaches its breaking point. In
    the ensuing chaos, Leir’s godchild Fallon finds themselves caught
    in a political storm that pits generation against generation and
    sibling against sibling.

    (All roles can be presented as male, female, or non-binary.)
  • Light as Her Bones by Ren Powell
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, experimental + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: drug use, suicide + 2 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, experimental, movement/physical
    Keyword: drug use, suicide, bipolar disorder, based on historical events
    In 1838, Elizabeth Whales receives an unusual marriage proposal from the young inventor and dentist Horace Wells. She is fascinated by his mercurial disposition and looks forward to living the rest of her life by his side, sharing in his highs and lows. But sharing his passions turns out to be more difficult than she had imagined.
  • The Ant Farm by Ren Powell
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: climate change, magical realism
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: climate change, magical realism
    After many years of the jet-set life, Talia returns home to attend her mother’s “Celebration of Life”, and to try to help her brother Tor move on. But Talia discovers that they've both outgrown their childhood home in more ways than one.