creative rocket fuel for playwrights
Rigorous, generous feedback and one-on-one support to make your plays stronger, braver, and inimitably yours.
Hi there and welcome! I’m Kate Tarker, a professional playwright and Yale School of Drama MFA, based in Brooklyn, whose work has been produced in New York, across the U.S., and internationally. I have taught playwriting at MIT, NYU Tisch, Yale, and other institutions, and I have been coaching and teaching independently for the past five years.
I love working directly with thoughtful, ambitious playwrights, whether you’re currently new to the field, transitioning from another art form, mid-career and looking to overcome a plateau, or simply eager to shake up your creative process. My approach is warm, encouraging, and plugged in to what’s happening in the wider theatrical landscape.
If you’d like to work with me one-on-one, your two options are draft feedback or coaching.
Draft Feedback
Have a full draft of a play, at any stage, and need help identifying your next steps?
I’ve got you. Send me your script and your most pressing questions. I’ll read the full script closely in advance, then we’ll meet for an hour to dig into the work together. My goal is to help you understand the unique play you’re writing: what’s alive in it, where it wants to go, what may be getting in its way, and what possibilities you might not have noticed yet.
Draft feedback might be right for you if:
you’ve finished a first draft and aren’t sure what to do next;
you’re feeling stuck in the middle of revision;
you want an experienced outside eye before a reading or submission;
you’ve received conflicting feedback and need help figuring out what you think;
you’re working on an ambitious or unconventional play and don’t want someone trying to sand off its edges.
What to expect:
My new play dramaturgy is grounded in asking you thoughtful questions, sharing honest observations about how I experienced your draft, supporting your goals and intentions, and empowering you in writing the play YOU most need to write. I will give you verbal feedback, not written notes, but you are welcome to record the session for future reference. I’ll tell you my biggest note(s) and give you granular feedback too.
You’ll come away from our session with clarity and a calm, strategic plan for next steps you can take with your work.
What kinds of plays can you bring in:
All sorts. My own creative background is wide ranging. I’ve worked with classical dramatic structure, music-theater (libretto and lyrics), and experimental, downtown, avant-garde traditions, including physical theater and devising. I’ve worked with theaters in the U.S., U.K., and in Germany. I’ll tailor my feedback to the kind of play you’re writing and the traditions you’re pulling from.
Before we meet:
At least one week before our script consulting session, I’ll need:
your current draft.
a one-paragraph synopsis.
what stage you believe the draft is currently at:
draft zero, first draft, mid-stage, late draft, or production-readyyour most pressing questions about the play.
It’s immensely helpful to hear your instincts and intuitions around what’s bugging you or feels incomplete.
That said, you don’t have to be able to fully articulate all your concerns.
“Arrrgh I know something isn’t working but I can’t see it anymore” is a legitimate reason to book.
Draft Feedback:
Cost: $250
Includes advance reading and preparation + a one-hour consultation.
Available over Zoom.
As a fellow writer, I know how much it takes to see a play all the way through, and how much trust it takes to share a script and seek feedback. I’ll take great care with your creative vision, treat you like a respected peer, and honor where you’re at in your process.
Individual Writing Coaching
Do you need a deadline, a down-to-earth sounding board, a sprinkle of some magic accountability, an outside perspective on a career question, help untangling a creative knot, or an hour with someone who understands what it’s like to make a life as a writer?
That’s what coaching is for.
We can meet once or regularly, whatever suits you best. What we talk about and work on is fully up to you.
Sessions might include:
writing process and practice
project goals, planning, and accountability
career questions, including about grad schools
creative stuckness and fears
idea development
artist statements and applications
short sections of writing that we look at during our time together
navigating the industry or navigating a collaboration
figuring out what the hell you’re doing next
I think of these sessions as à-la-carte office hours for writers: practical, flexible, conversational, and open to writers at any experience level.
Coaching sessions do not include reading a script or scenes outside of our meeting time. Coaching can be combined with a Draft Feedback session if you would like ongoing support during revision.
2026 Coaching Rates:
30 minute session: $55
1 hour session: $85
Available over Zoom.
To book, email me to let me know a little bit about yourself and what you’re looking for and we’ll go from there.
OBIE winners Nadine Malouf and Ari Venturi in Montag at Soho Rep., 2022.
Not sure which kind of support you need? Email me.
If you’d like to book a mix of coaching and draft feedback, you have a unique situation, or you have further questions:
Send me a quick note about yourself and tell me what you’re looking for.
MORE ABOUT ME
I’m an experienced professional playwright with past productions and development in NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, London, and Germany. I studied under Paula Vogel at the Yale School of Drama, where I received my MFA in 2014. The press have called my plays “screamingly funny” (NYTimes), “staggeringly original” (SF Chronicle), “exuberant” (The New Yorker), and “highbrow + brilliant” (NY Magazine).
I consider teaching, mentoring, and coaching an essential and joyful part of my creative practice. I’ve taught at MIT, NYU Tisch, Yale University, Connecticut College, and Wesleyan University, among other places. I’ve worked with undergraduate students, graduate students, high school students, young professionals, career changers, and experienced professionals from around the world.
As a writer, I'm driven by a relentless and rebellious curiosity about what the medium of live theater can do. I write countercultural plays for smart, fun-loving audiences, and trust in the powers of radical truth telling, community gathering, and collective effervescence to overhaul our most delusional and damaging cultural scripts.
Kate Tarker after working with students from SITI Conservatory, 2016.
WHAT PREVIOUS CLIENTS ARE SAYING
“Kate is so great. She really takes the time to dissect your draft and highlight what works and what needs further consideration. She is thorough and precise, but also takes the big picture into consideration. She is extremely knowledgeable and her play recommendations are spot on. She is a very reassuring presence and somebody you want to have in your corner as you go through the process of writing your play.”
-short story writer and novelist Jon Papernick
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“I had the immense privilege of working with Kate for 1:1 script feedback for a new full-length play I was working on last year. I have been working as a playwright professionally for the last decade or so and have experience working with dramaturgs, directors, being in playwriting cohorts, etc. Kate far exceeded my expectations during our first meeting to discuss my script. She not only was thoroughly familiar with the text (having read the play twice, and making detailed notes) she was specific with her feedback, tailoring her notes to align with where I was within my writing process, and giving me plenty of time to ask questions. Kate not only helped me further delve into the play structurally, she gave me the confidence to continue writing and exploring. She is incredibly kind, warm, and giving and I felt wholly comfortable with my art in her hands. Her advice led me to a much stronger Draft Two and then a Draft Three.
I used this play to apply to MFA Playwriting programs, something that felt incredibly daunting. When I told Kate about this process, she was quick to offer her assistance and resources to help me navigate the application process. She helped me continue to develop my play, read through my statements of purpose, and always answered my panicked emails and helped quiet my constant anxieties. I would not have been able to have applied to any of the schools without her unwavering grace and guidance.
I recommend Kate's 1:1 playwright feedback to all of my writer friends - she is not only immensely knowledgeable but she is kind and caring - something I have found is lacking in spaces focused on artistic feedback. I could not recommend her more highly!”
-playwright Sarah Galante
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“Working with Kate brought me back to being and thinking of myself as a writer. In our weekly classes, Kate's writing exercises and discussions fired up a long dormant engine I wasn't sure would work again and which, in a great shock to me, actually started churning out work again. Her willingness to share her toolbox and teach us how to use its contents was so generous. And whether it's over Zoom as we discuss the draft of a play of mine or over brunch in Hell's Kitchen, her advice is so valuable and constructive. 10/10 recommend working with Kate.”
-playwright Kev Berry
Montag at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Germany, 2023.