doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Tira Palmquist

TIRA PALMQUIST

  
Nationality:    USA
twitter     email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

My plays include TWO DEGREES, TEN MILE LAKE (Serenbe Playhouse), AGE OF BEES (MadLab Theater), AND THEN THEY FELL, and many others. AND THEN THEY FELL was workshopped and performed at the UMass New Play Lab in April 2014 (the play was also a finalist for the Aurora Theater Company's Global Age Project, a semi-finalist for the Bay Area Playwrights' Festival, and has had readings at The Road Theatre in Los Angeles). TEN MILE LAKE, which premiered this summer at Serenbe Playhouse just outside of Atlanta, GA, was developed and workshopped in 2012 at the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference. In 2013, I returned to the Seven Devils Conference to work as a dramaturg with Jeni Mahoney. In November of 2012, AGE OF BEES premiered at MadLab Theater, and was named Best Original Work by the Other Papers "Best of 2012" list. The play is slated for production in 2015 at Tesseract Theater. Also in 2012, Inkwell Theater presented an excerpt of my play FORTUNE AND PAIN (AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD) at the Kennedy Center Page to Stage Festival. My plays have been developed by 9Thirty Theater, Theater of Note, EST-LA, Seven Devils and Inkwell Theater. My short plays have been produced all over the country (and internationally, as well). I teach writing at UC Irvine and at the Orange County School of the Arts. I'm a member of the Dramatists Guild, the EST-LA's Playwrights Unit and I'm a Co-Executive Producer of Fell Swoop Playwrights. I was born in Minnesota (the 4th child of a Lutheran Minister and Music Teacher), and spent my childhood and adolescence in the Midwest - Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. I'm sure that growing up in the Midwest as shaped the kinds of stories I write. Then, too, my sensibilities as a writer have been shaped by a few particular influences: poetry, acting and public policy research. I know this list may not seem particularly logical - and yet as I reflect on the kind of playwright I am, I can say that my work is undeniably influenced by these things. I got my undergraduate degree in acting at the University of Iowa, but at the same time studied with poets Jorie Graham and James Galvin. I received my MFA in poetry, but I gradually shifted from poetry to plays, I discovered the most joy in writing for the stage. I have found that my work as a poet helped me hear the particulars of words, phrasing, tone, line - while my work as an actor helped me understand the shape and structure of a scene. Finally, I have been teaching argument and research (with a focus on public policy research) and I've become much more aware of various current, pressing issues - and these issues have, undeniably, found their way into the stories I tell. My professional training as a playwright really started as "on-the-job" training as an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa - acting, directing, stage managing, building sets, making props, sewing costumes. All the things that I did on and off stage helped me to understand how a good play is made, and how good theater connects with audiences. I have been inspired by many theater artists - Constance Congdon, Amy Saltz, Lucy Thurber, Carlos Murillo, Kara Lee Corthron, Jeni Mahoney, and many others - people who are smart and make gorgeous theater. I've had the pleasure to work with and be inspired by a pretty diverse group of theater makers (dramaturgs, directors, actors, sound designers, etc.), and I can say that I simply wouldn't be the writer I am if I didn't listen carefully to their input, their responses and, most importantly, what inspires them in their work.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of Tira Palmquist's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Age of Bees, The         Anaheim Home Companion         Breathing Water Instead of Air         Coyote Rising         Fortune and Pain (at the End of the World)         Frequency Of Stars And Other Matter, The         Hard Crossing: the Story of Gilgamesh         Independence Day         Island of Doctor Moreau         Lost Nation         Predator         Ten Mile Lake         Till Somebody Loves Me         Two Degrees

Age of Bees, The

Age of Bees, The
The bees have all gone. Disease is rampant. Mel a young pollinator goes into hiding on an isolated farm. But Mel faces an awful decision should she stay or return

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Original Works Publishing 2015   978-1630920708

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Anaheim Home Companion

Synopsis:
Anaheim a small town in 1953 where everyone knows everyone else. the college football team are front page news and everyone rallies round when frost threatens the orange crop.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
The Chance Theater, Anaheim Hills, California    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Breathing Water Instead of Air

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Deland Thetre Festival, Deland, Florida     2007

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Coyote Rising

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Fortune and Pain (at the End of the World)

Synopsis:
Four new plays in development with Washington D.C.'s own center of new play development, the Inkwell: Terminals by David Robinson, Long Black Veil by Julie Lewis, Fortune and Pain (at the End of the World) by Tira Palmquist, and K Comma Joseph by Kirby Fields. Drama. Recommended for age 13 and up. Mon. at 1 p.m.

Notes:
The Kennedy Center hosts its 11th annual Page-to-Stage festival, featuring more than 40 D.C.-area theater companies. This three-day event offers free readings and open rehearsals of plays and musicals being developed by local, regional, and national playwrights, librettists, and composers

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Frequency Of Stars And Other Matter, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Hard Crossing: the Story of Gilgamesh

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Independence Day

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Island of Doctor Moreau

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Based on the book by H G Wells

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Lost Nation

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Predator

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Originally performed as part of an evening of ten minute plays: "Convention V"

1st Produced:
Hunger Artists Theater, Fullerton, California     02 Dec 2011

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Ten minute play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Ten Mile Lake

Synopsis:
Maggie should have known it was a fool's errand to return to Ten Mile Lake; after all if her Father had wanted her to know he was dying, he would have called her himself. It would be easy to just turn around and head back to Portland, especially since he seems to get along better with his new nurse Donny than he ever did with her. But, now that she's home, Maggie can't seem to leave, and maybe. . . just maybe she doesn't really want to.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Serenbe Playhouse Just Outside Of Atlanta, Ga     12 Jun 2014

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
http://www.indietheaternow.com/Plays   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
1 act 90 min

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Till Somebody Loves Me

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Two Degrees

Synopsis:
Emma Phelps a climate scientist has been studying the ice in Greenland. She has amassed a lot of data and plans to publish. Recently widowed she has thrown herself into her work. She is invited to Washington D C to testify to a Congressional hearing

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Playlabs Reading At The Great Plains Theater Conference In Omaha, Ne     2014

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page