Kathy Coudle-King
Official Site of Award-winning
Playwright & Author
Bio
Born in West New York, NJ, Kathy completed high school in Miami, Florida and graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in Dramatic Writing, later earning a M.A. in English from the Univ. of ND.
Kathy has written more than fifty plays. While women-centered stories are the major focus of her work, she has also written prolifically for children’s theatre. In 2020, she founded Theatre without Walls to develop and produce site-specific plays. She and a group of actors created The Shelter Plays, to help fundraise for theaters which were dark due to Covid, followed by In Search of Persephone, highlighting homelessness in her community, performed in area parks in 2021. She is currently at work on
Retail Therapy, which will be performed in a retail store in 2023.
History is another source of inspiration. Kathy has enjoyed commissions that have allowed her to explore the early women's labor movement in NYC, the fight for women's full suffrage, homes for teen mothers in the 1960s, and beyond U.S. shores, Uruaguay's "dirty war" and some of the women who fought in it. Kathy also dabbles in screenwriting, as you will see from her page here.
Artist Statement
Story is my religion. I have faith in story. Stories well told can build bridges, transport us to the past and the future, explore the here and now, record today for tomorrow, heal the storyteller and the audience, awaken the sleeping, inspire the despondent, ignite revolution. Story can reveal what has been hidden and give voice to what’s been silenced. I have worshipped story from the time my mother sat me on her knee and read to me over and over until I’d memorized the words. I have devoured stories from the time my deaf brother shared his love of the Hollywood musical with me. I’ve sought refuge in story amid family chaos. I’ve poured over stories to show me the way. There is holiness in the pause of a comma, the use of a period. There is communion in the semi-colon. Finally, I came to playwriting through acting out the stories of others. And when I did not see my stories on the page or the stage, I began to write them. I discovered I could also use my ability to craft story to serve as a vehicle for other’s who might not have had the same privilege as me to learn the craft, or the opportunities to share their stories with a wider audiences. I am actor, writer, director, producer, and educator – and I am a thousand stories. I serve no other gods but Story.
Awards & Honors
Winner - "Clothespins" Association of Theatre in Higher Education 2021
10-Minute Play Award
Professional Development Award ND Council on the Arts 2011, ’16, ‘17
Winner – New Play Award for Companeras Larry Corse – Columbus State, GA 2011
Diamond Award, Hip Hop Daddy Filmmakers 2010
Artist of the Year North Valley Arts Council Award 2009
Winner - Ghost Town/Off the Map Bush Foundation Dakota Creative 2009
Connections
Winner - Companeras ATHE 2008
Finalist, St. Bette’s Panowski Award – U. of Michigan 2008
Finalist, St. Bette’s Sienna New Play Award 2007
Finalist, Trees Dayton FutureFest 2007
Winner, Trees Fullerton College 2007
1st place, Shrimp Po’boy Marco Island Film Festival 2002
Semi-finalist, Shrimp Po’boy Nicholl’s Fellowship 2002
Semi-finalist, Shrimp Po’boy Chesterfield Fellowship 2002
Contact
For any media inquiries, please contact Kathy Coudle-King
| katking33 "At" gmail.com
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