KATHLEEN POTTS
Playwright ∙ Dramaturg ∙ Academic
KATHLEEN POTTS (she/her) is a nationally recognized playwright, dramaturg, and academic. As a playwright, she received the Eugene O’Neill Center Playwriting Fellowship and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award and is a member of The Dramatists Guild. She has served as dramaturg on new and established plays and musicals across the United States and in the Dominican Republic. In her role as an academic, Dr. Potts is Chair of the Department of Theatre and Speech at The City College of New York, CUNY. Proud alumna of the University of Southern Maine, Columbia University’s School of the Arts, and The Graduate Center, CUNY.
Starting from soul, Kathleen writes plays about social themes and …. general text about your playwriting process
Obituary 2121
Starting from soul, Kathleen writes plays about social themes and …. general text about your playwriting process
The Gospel According to Mary of Nazareth
Johnson Dream Productions present the untold, spirited, musical testimony of the life, death, burial, resurrection, and rebirth of Jesus Christ, through the eyes of His blessed mother, Mary of Nazareth.
Starting from soul, Kathleen writes plays about social themes and …. general text about your playwriting process
The Professional Actor's Handbook
The Professional Actor’s Handbook: From Casting Call to Curtain Call written by Julio Agustin with Kathleen Potts.
Contribute Essay: Pamela Barnes as Pastiche
Conference Area Chair of Theatre
Kathleen served as the Area Chair Theater and Performance Studies for Southwest Popular American Culture Association, in addition to presenting at the conference.
Starting from soul, Kathleen writes plays about social themes and …. general text about your playwriting process
Find the latest shows taking the stage.
The Suffragist
Kathleen Potts writes with the precision of a scholar and the soul of a poet. This play doesn't just entertain; it demands that you look closer at the sparks we ignite in our private lives and the fires they can start in our culture.
—Frank Calo, Fresh Fruit Festival Artistic Director
My Story
My vision of myself is as an academic whose creative work centers on playwriting and dramaturgy. Let me share a little bit about how I came to see myself in this way…
In high school, my English teacher announced to the class that “Miss Potts is the best writer in this class, and she only received a B+.” That was many years ago and to this day I am not sure if it was said to encourage me, to motivate my classmates, or to provide some context for her tough grading system. Perhaps it was meant to provide all three? Regardless of how she meant it, that teacher’s comment planted a
seed in my “writer’s heart.” As an undergraduate theatre major, I received more praise for my writing than I did for my acting. That seed grew and I became sure that I wanted to be a playwright, eventually moving to New York City, attending Columbia University’s School of the Arts and earning an MFA.
After graduation, I pursued off-off Broadway productions of my plays and found a paid job in film that I was excited about. Then the world changed. I consider myself lucky that I only lost my job after 9/11. I was working at a documentary film company in Tribeca when I witnessed the acts of terror on that day. My colleagues and I knew people who perished, but we all survived. It seemed selfish to worry about our jobs when so many people lost their lives and loved ones. A few weeks after the attack it became clear that the company we loved, worked for, and believed in would not withstand the economic devastation of those times. I would be among the last to be let go; nevertheless, the owner would be happy to write me a glowing reference letter. Having received a renewed sense of personal and spiritual purpose through that ordeal, I realized that I wanted to dedicate myself to lifting others through education. I asked for a recommendation letter to a doctoral program and so began my path to becoming a dedicated educator contributing to a legacy of access, opportunity, and transformation for every person through education.
Kathleen Potts, MFA, PhD
Playwright, Dramaturg, and Academic
Chair of the Department of Theatre and Speech
The City College of New York, CUNY