| Ruth McKee's work has been produced and developed by Abingdon Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alliance Theatre, Black Dahlia Theatre, Center Theatre Group, Chalk Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, HB Playwrights Foundation, and Six Figures Theatre Company, among others. Her play The Nightshade Family was featured in the 2007 Summer Play Festival (SPFNYC), and her new work Hell Money was a runner up for the 2009 Yale Drama Series Award. She received the 2008 Stanley Drama Award for her play Stray, which was produced in Los Angeles by The Black Dahlia Theatre and Chalk Rep, and in New York as a part of the Cherry Lane Theatre's Mentor Project (mentored by David Henry Hwang). Originally from Canada, by way of Bangladesh and Kenya, Ms. McKee has a BFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU and an MFA in Playwriting from UCSD. She lives in Los Angeles where she is a member of the L.A. Playwrights Union and a founding member of Chalk Rep. |
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Drama
Full-length, 70-80 minutes
4 females, 2 males (5-6 actors possible: 3-4 females, exactly 2 males)
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Three New York City immigrant teenagers take an internship organizing submissions for an essay contest on patriotism in America. Disgusted by the phoniness of the entries, they form a bet to see if they can win the contest with honest responses to the topic. As they reveal their stories, their own senses of patriotism and the world are challenged in unexpected ways.
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| "In 500 Words, McKee is exploring identity. Her piece is really youth-oriented, and seemed like a perfect fit for the teaching/touring arm of the Playwrights Project... It's neatly conceived, if not deep and multi-faceted." |
| --Pat Launer, San Diego Theatre Scene |
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Drama
Full-length, 60-80 minutes
1 female, 2 males
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
John and Abbey work at a lonely airport parking lot in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, confined together to a tiny booth. After a rough start, John develops a crush on Abbey, who is recovering from a sexual assault and is less than interested in John's advances. Instead she becomes increasingly obsessed with a wealthy jetsetting customer, whose return to the parking lot she hopes will fulfill her dreams of a better life.
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Drama
Full-length, 100-120 minutes
4 females, 1 male
$75.00 per performance; $8.99 per book
Well-educated, middle-class couple James and Rachel have moved back to America from Uganda with their traumatized adopted son in hopes of providing him with a better life. Instead, Daniel is threatened with expulsion from school for his violent behavior. As his behavior becomes increasingly dangerous, Daniel's rocky progress is revealed through the eyes of the adults who are responsible for him -- his levelheaded principal, his apprehensive teacher, and his sympathetic counselor -- and James and Rachel are forced to grapple with the backlash of their choices.
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| "McKee dispassionately observes how each of these adult authority figures fails to help Daniel emerge from his private hell. By keeping him offstage, she places the focus squarely on how adult desire, always rationalized, displaces a child's basic needs." |
| --Charlotte Stoudt, Los Angeles Times |
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