
Donna Hoke
Donna is a Plays in Progress Mentor. Her mentor interests: multi-layered themes/narratives, adaptations, sexuality and gender politics, the power and pain of human nature, big ideas. Request Donna as a PIP Mentor.
"If your play seeks to unify complex ideas and uncomfortable questions in story form and with heart—realistic or not, linear or not—I’m well-suited. If it involves patrons lying on cots while performers whisper in their ears, I’m probably not. If it’s a comedy that asks nothing more than “is this funny?” I’m probably not. If you’ve written a play about a historic figure, and it’s more about her timeline of accomplishments than what they won or lost for her, I’m probably not. I favor character over plot, psychic journey over grand adventure, and moving moments over melodrama.
That said, I’m analytical, good at seeing the big picture, the holes, the connections, and identifying what a play needs to make it cohere and capture attention. I believe in playwrights walking away from our work with an understanding of these concepts as they apply to their plays, as well as a clear plan for revision. To that end, I provide thorough page-by-page notes; playwrights I've worked with like this approach, because the notes serve almost as a blueprint for revision because they highlight the roots of a problem or questions, which makes them easier to address. Conversely, if they see an interpretation that is not their intention, they know where it came from. Always, the goal is to let the play honor the writer's intent."
Ambassador for Western New York State (Buffalo), ensemble playwright-in-residence at Road Less Traveled Productions, Kilroys List and award-winning playwright Donna Hoke’s work has been seen in 46 states, and on five continents. Her full-length plays include ELEVATOR GIRL (2017 O’Neill finalist), THE COUPLE NEXT DOOR (Princess Grace semi-finalist, currently in its fifth year in rep in Romania), SAFE (winner of the Todd McNerney, Naatak, and Great Gay Play and Musical Contests), BRILLIANT WORKS OF ART (2016 Kilroys List, Winner HRC Showcase, Firehouse Festival of New American Plays), and TEACH (Gulfshore New Works and Athena Plays in Progress winner, 2018 O'Neill semi-finalist; Creede Rep, T. Schreiber, Ashland finalist); she’s also authored more than three dozen short plays that have had hundreds of productions, and has been nominated for both the Francesca Primus and Susan Blackburn prizes, and has twice received the Emanuel Fried Award for Outstanding New Play (SEEDS, SONS & LOVERS). In 2017, she received an individual artist's grant from the New York State Council on the Arts to develop HEARTS OF STONE. Donna is also a New York Times-published crossword puzzle constructor; author of Neko and the Twiggets, a children’s book; and founder/co-curator of BUA Takes 10: GLBT Short Stories. In its final years, she was thrice named Buffalo’s Best Writer by Artvoice, the only woman to ever receive the designation. In addition, Donna is a blogger, advocate, and moderator of the 12,000+-member Official Playwrights of Facebook. Recent speaking engagements include Citywrights, Kenyon Playwrights Conference, the Dramatists Guild National Conference, Chicago Dramatists, and a live Dramatists Guild webinar. Her commentary has been read at #2amt, howlround, the Official Playwrights of Facebook, the newly released Workshopping the New Play, and donnahoke.com.
Ambassador for Western New York State (Buffalo). Dramatists Guild of America 2018 O'Neill semi-finalist 2017 O'Neill finalist 2016 Kilroys List Blackburn and Primus nominated Winner Great Gay Play and Musical Contest, HRC, Firehouse Festival of New American Plays, Naatak National Playwriting Contest, Todd McNerney National Playwriting Contest, Gulfshore New Works, Athena Plays in Progress, two-time Artie Award winner for Outstanding New Play, and invited residencies at Saginaw Valley State, Western Michigan, and Long Island Universities Buffalo's Best Writer for three years' running, as determined by Artvoice--the only woman to ever receive the designation