Who is writing this?

I’m Kate Tarker, a playwright, librettist, and lyricist based in NYC.
This is me happily watching rehearsal:

I write offbeat, funny, countercultural plays. I’m always curious about language and power, pleasure and freedom, gender and bodies, place and belonging, and how to be a person in this beat-up world. My storytelling is punky, playful, innovative, and irreverent, but also sincere.

My most recent play, Montag, garnered two Obie Awards in its premiere production at Soho Rep., and was subsequently produced internationally at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany. Additional plays include THUNDERBODIES (Soho Rep.), Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man (The Wilma, FoolsFURY), and Laura and the Sea (Rivendell Theatre Ensemble).

The press has called my work "brilliant + highbrow" (New York Magazine), "staggeringly original" (The San Francisco Chronicle), and "screamingly funny" (The New York Times). I’m a Yale School of Drama alum, and I’ve taught at bunch of places like MIT, Yale, NYU Tisch, Connecticut College, The Playwrights’ Center, University of The Arts, and more.

Why subscribe?

For irregular, idiosyncratic doses of : behind the scenes glimpses of theater and writing life. Personal insights on power struggles between the arts and our leaders in politics and tech. Writing prompts. Reading, viewing, and listening recommendations. News about upcoming shows, classes, and publications.

I write about subjects relevant to playwrights, theater makers, TV & film people, philanthropists, journalists, fiction writers, academics, gossip hounds, culture vultures… and if you’ve read this far, probably to YOU.

Why pay to subscribe?

It’s truly optional. I’m not a fan of paywalling every inch of the internet and commercializing every thought. But I’m also not a fan of devaluing the labor of writers and artists. Money keeps my lights on and keeps me working— so anyone who chooses a paid subscription is a hero to me.

If you have the means, paying for a subscription (or gifting one) is an impactful gesture. It’s a direct way to support my work, contribute to this project’s survival, and keep it free for more readers.

In the larger context of shrinking arts journalism and authoritarian attacks on culture and empathy, your contribution is a vote for more free speech, more original, independent, and diversified thought, and more accessible, active creative discourse.

Where else can you find me online?

Website: katetarker.com
Instagram (on-and-off again): kate.tarker