Playwright | Author
M. K. Wessel
- Plays
- Prose
- Poetry
PLAYWRITING
UPCOMING
The Red Claw, Project Playground Festival, Penguin Productions – University Heights, April 25
UPCOMING
Thank You For Knowing Me, The 40-Minute Play Festival, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi – May 6-9
RECENT
The Formerlies, Nebraska Wesleyan University – March 30-31
RECENT
Not Your Usual Princess, Theatrical Shenanigans Podcast – Dec. 7, 2025:
https://theatricalshenanigans.podbean.com/e/s05-e08-%e2%80%93-not-your-usual-princess-pamela-morgan/
RECENT
Producer/Playwright/Actor: SpookyFest, Theatre of Convenience – Oct. 26, 2025:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IOLGh1Uoek
wild, mysterious forces
Stuck in an elevator—or is it a spaceship?—a Woman and a Man struggle to figure out if they’ve met before, if they’re strangers, if they will meet in the future, and who this Other Woman is who keeps showing up. As reality shifts around them, the trio find themselves caught in a duel of philosophy, sexuality, and power. Defying the laws of physics, this play bends time and space around a single life-altering event, and asks the audience to decide what is true—reality, or our perception of it?
Thank You For Knowing Me
Presented in six scene fragments, Thank You For Knowing Me tells the story of the doomed relationship between Taylor and Jaime. Structured as a series of Taylor’s memories, the scenes fluctuate between lighthearted and gloomy, humorous and tense. The audience is left to puzzle out the timeline of events as they’re confronted with themes of abandonment, connection, and growing apart.
Tony the Fantastic Fireman! LIVE: One Show Only
In this immersive dark comedy, children gather in the house as the House Manager stalls for time, bringing on local kid’s entertainer Silly Willy to distract the audience. When well-known kid’s TV show host “Tony the Fantastic Fireman” finally arrives, he ends up sabotaging the career that ruined his life during the live performance, despite efforts to calm him down by his stage partner, “Private Joe the Musician,” and their manager, Heather.
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Late Night Series at UHM
Starring KoDee Martin, Dylan Chace Lee, and Rachael Uyeno
Directed by Tyler J. Haugen
Photos by Jonah Bobilin
Buttons!
(co-author)
When the young Pim sets out on a quest to help his granny, he stumbles across Ming, a young girl with a treasure chest, an awesome sword, and a mission: to find the Button Dimension. The two decide to join forces — but when they finally cross dimensions and face off against the Dread Overlord Buttons, secrets are revealed that challenge everything they once believed. This original fantasy play deals with themes of friendship, loss, and the strength it takes to let go.
The Red Claw
In this boisterous parody of film noir, an unlikely duo race against the clock to track down a murderer known only as The Red Claw. Surrounded by a cast of odd and uncooperative suspects — not to mention a masked vigilante — Detective Shorthair must make peace with his past before it’s too late. Framed by audience asides and riddled with ridiculous detective work, this play mixes together thrilling action, comedic gags, and a healthy dose of Christmas cheer.
- The work of two 24 Hour Play Festivals, Buttons! (co-written with Rachael Uyeno) and The Red Claw earned a total of 4 awards.
The Father, or Daedalus
Somewhere in America, a father struggles to reconnect with his teenage son, reflecting on the good times and the bad, trying to pinpoint where things went wrong. Over the course of a single conversation, the two slowly and painfully reach an understanding—but all that work is flipped on its head when the son confesses what he’s done. A mix of present day and projected memories, this play pits a father’s unconditional love against a boy’s unforgivable act.
- Published in the Open Journal of Arts & Letters (2023)
- Winner in the One-Act category of Chameleon Theatre Circle's 26th Annual New Play Contest (2025)
Short Film — The Bird
A man's relationship begins to fall apart
when his girlfriend becomes obsessed
with becoming a bird.
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Staged Readings
My plays have received staged readings at Kumu Kahua Theatre, the interACT series at the Lyric Rep, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, and Seattle Public Theater.
Play Publications
My plays have been published in Open: Journal of Arts and Letters, Mini-Plays Magazine, The Soliloquist, and Hello Godot — A One-Minute Existential Play Anthology.
Prose & Poetry
My other writing has been published in Empyrean Magazine, The Raven Review, Writer's Playground, Literature Today, Bamboo Ridge Press, and ScribesMICRO.
In 2023, my poem "Let the World Fall" was a winner in the Annual Writer’s Digest Poetry Awards.
