Abe Koogler Selected Plays

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Kooglers characters are earnest, idiosyncratic, and suspicious of hierarchy. Often bitingly funny, Kooglers playsreveal larger truths about the economic and racial systems under which we all live. - The Yale Review Abe Koogler writes darkly comedic plays. Many of them are about economic class, unusual jobs, and the challenges and absurdities of making a living in todays America. Although grounded in realism, his plays often incorporate imaginary elements and heightened or musical language. In his first play collection, Koogler's work is brought together and introduced by the author himself, giving insights into his range in style, from naturalistic to absurd. Deep Blue Sound: "A fairly conventional heart beats underneath the quirky stylings ... it also tees up a lovely, melancholy coda about the reassuring comforts of a familiar home" - New York Times Fulfilment Centre: "steeped in a luminous and illuminating empathy that feels both uncommon and essential right now" - New York Times Aspen Ideas: A fast-paced and darkly comedic thriller about the poisonous appeal of believing that the best ideas win, and that winners know best. Kill Floor: "never strikes a false or strained note as Mr. Koogler observes the awkward cut-and-thrust of the relationships among the characters" - New York Times Advance Man: ripe with experimental language, movement and absurdism, a dark comedy exploring what it means to be a politically-engaged American.

Author Bio

Abe Koogler has won an Obie Award for Playwriting, the Dramatist Guilds Lanford Wilson Award, and a Weissberger Award. He earned graduate degrees in playwriting from UT-Austin and Juilliard. He has taught playwriting at Primary Stages and Bennington College. He also works as a political speechwriter. Abes plays include Deep Blue Sound (Clubbed Thumb), Staff Meal (Playwrights Horizons), Aspen Ideas (Studio Theatre, postponed due to COVID), Fulfillment Centre (Manhattan Theatre Club), Kill Floor (Lincoln Center Theatre), Lisa My Friend (Kitchen Dog), Blue Skies Process (Goodman Theatre), and Advance Man (UTNT). With fellow playwrights Katie Bender and Gab Reisman, he co-wrote the immersive journey plays Slip River and Church of the Passionate Cat, which both premiered in Austin. His plays have been directed by Daniel Aukin, Lila Neugebauer, Les Waters, and Will Davis, among others.