ABOUT.
Kaela Mei-Shing Garvin (they/she) is a playwright, theatermaker, educator, new work advocate, and lapsed Catholic.
Their plays — honored by the Leah Ryan Prize, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and the Kennedy Center — live at the intersection of queer yearning, diasporic rage, and glittering genre theater. Drawing on pop culture, history, and a dash of stage magic, Kaela builds theatrical worlds where camp and rigor share a dressing room.
They’ve written plays about:
• Y2K girl bands fighting for artistic autonomy in low-rise jeans
• best friends dueling via Olympic ping pong during climate collapse
• historical reenactors spiraling through late-stage capitalism
• teen witches weaponizing homecoming
and other high-stakes, high-heart works.
Their work has been developed or presented by Ma-Yi Theater Company, Second Stage Theater (2ST), and Alliance Theatre, and they’ve been commissioned by EST/Sloan, Yangtze Rep, and Montana Rep, among others. Kaela writes muscular ensemble pieces with juicy roles, formal elasticity, and emotional engines built to survive rehearsal rooms and academic calendars alike. If your season calls for ambitious storytelling that fuses spectacle with substance, Kaela would love to be in touch.
They are currently Assistant Professor of Playwriting at Salem State University, a board member at Playwrights Foundation, and a founding member of Undiscovered Countries, Brooklyn’s long-running incubator for bold, genre-defiant performance.
When they’re not writing or teaching, they’re probably spilling tea (literally, the kettle is always on) or rewatching Pride & Prejudice (2005) for “research.”
Their plays — honored by the Leah Ryan Prize, the Bay Area Playwrights Festival, and the Kennedy Center — live at the intersection of queer yearning, diasporic rage, and glittering genre theater. Drawing on pop culture, history, and a dash of stage magic, Kaela builds theatrical worlds where camp and rigor share a dressing room.
They’ve written plays about:
• Y2K girl bands fighting for artistic autonomy in low-rise jeans
• best friends dueling via Olympic ping pong during climate collapse
• historical reenactors spiraling through late-stage capitalism
• teen witches weaponizing homecoming
and other high-stakes, high-heart works.
Their work has been developed or presented by Ma-Yi Theater Company, Second Stage Theater (2ST), and Alliance Theatre, and they’ve been commissioned by EST/Sloan, Yangtze Rep, and Montana Rep, among others. Kaela writes muscular ensemble pieces with juicy roles, formal elasticity, and emotional engines built to survive rehearsal rooms and academic calendars alike. If your season calls for ambitious storytelling that fuses spectacle with substance, Kaela would love to be in touch.
They are currently Assistant Professor of Playwriting at Salem State University, a board member at Playwrights Foundation, and a founding member of Undiscovered Countries, Brooklyn’s long-running incubator for bold, genre-defiant performance.
When they’re not writing or teaching, they’re probably spilling tea (literally, the kettle is always on) or rewatching Pride & Prejudice (2005) for “research.”
PRESS.
🧙♀️ High School Coven (Strand Theater Company, 2023)
“Garvin perfectly nails the dialect of modern-day teenagehood while also bringing to light significant issues... The playwright manages to interweave the universality of these characters’ experiences with intimate depictions of their individuality.”
— MD Theatre Guide
"HIGH SCHOOL COVEN has the right combination of tension and safety, surprise and familiarity, heartbreak and comedy to appeal to anyone who remembers, first- or second- hand, the traumas of being female in high school. Would that witchcraft were the solution to other future woes! However much empowerment women feel, until our voices are not dismissed, we still have work to do. In the words of the unexpectedly wise Shopgirl, "I choose to believe in all of us."
— Cymbele Pomeroy, BroadwayWorld
🏞 Harpers Ferry 2019 (Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 2022)
“A must-see for audiences ready to have tough conversations and bear witness to Garvin’s deeply moving work... Garvin isn’t afraid to step into the space of holding those in power accountable."
— Ariel Mary Ann, League of Cincinnati Theatres
“A powerful theatrical experience that delves into the complexities of race, privilege, and history... Garvin's dialogue is sharp and poignant, masterfully exploring history and privilege through a time-hopping narrative."
— Ariel Mary Ann, League of Cincinnati Theatres
"The imagery of water throughout the play with all of its meaning brings a sense of solemness and beauty... An outstanding play."
— Sherri Ogden Wellington, League of Cincinnati Theatres
“Garvin perfectly nails the dialect of modern-day teenagehood while also bringing to light significant issues... The playwright manages to interweave the universality of these characters’ experiences with intimate depictions of their individuality.”
— MD Theatre Guide
"HIGH SCHOOL COVEN has the right combination of tension and safety, surprise and familiarity, heartbreak and comedy to appeal to anyone who remembers, first- or second- hand, the traumas of being female in high school. Would that witchcraft were the solution to other future woes! However much empowerment women feel, until our voices are not dismissed, we still have work to do. In the words of the unexpectedly wise Shopgirl, "I choose to believe in all of us."
— Cymbele Pomeroy, BroadwayWorld
🏞 Harpers Ferry 2019 (Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 2022)
“A must-see for audiences ready to have tough conversations and bear witness to Garvin’s deeply moving work... Garvin isn’t afraid to step into the space of holding those in power accountable."
— Ariel Mary Ann, League of Cincinnati Theatres
“A powerful theatrical experience that delves into the complexities of race, privilege, and history... Garvin's dialogue is sharp and poignant, masterfully exploring history and privilege through a time-hopping narrative."
— Ariel Mary Ann, League of Cincinnati Theatres
"The imagery of water throughout the play with all of its meaning brings a sense of solemness and beauty... An outstanding play."
— Sherri Ogden Wellington, League of Cincinnati Theatres
