Playwright, Producer, Music & Comedy Director, Writer, Host, Performance Artist
Hi. I’m Connie. I’m a playwright.
In March, my play The Quarter Millennial Experience received a reading with Ubiquitous Players featuring Tony Dobrowolski, Anna Gold, Zach Robinson and Marlo Shaw. The play takes place in Boston, which is where I’ll be in mid-April, researching and re-writing this romantic comedy!
In December, my full-length comedy HOTBED received a staged reading with Naked Angels Tuesdays@9 at Chicago Dramatists! Joshua Fardon produced, Hayley Procacci directed and, my gosh, look at this cast: Tony Bozzuto, Harriet Fardon, Kym Fraher, Nick Jones, Becca Rowland (music direction) and Darren Stephens! This event was part of the national Naked Angels “First Mondays” series. Here are some photos taken by Patricia Mario.
Music & Comedy Director
I am the music and comedy director for Tuesdays@9 Chicago. I book the music, spoken word, poetry, rap and comedy acts — and sometimes I perform as A Host Of Golden Daffodils. I occasionally guest host, co-host or produce. Most importantly, I’m a contributing playwright, which is the main reason I am there. We meet nearly every Tuesday, September through May, at Chicago Dramatists. Our last show of the season is May 21, 2024.
Tuesdays@9 Chicago is a valuable resource for any artist and the community is top notch. This is the premier place to test new material with and in front of an intelligent audience of artists. Check it out.
Upcoming or Recent Gigs
May 20, 2024 – Directing The Sign by Carl Maronich for Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
May 7, 2024 – New pages (12, to be exact) from my play The Power Room going up at Tuesdays@9 Chicago. It’s a cousin comedy about shamanism and sexual healing.
April 18, 2024 – Special guest on Under Rocks with WNIJ, the NPR station for northern Illinois. Listen here.
April 9 & 16, 2024 – Co-hosted Tuesdays@9 Chicago with Patricia Mario.
April 2, 2024 – Co-produced annual Tuesdays@9 Chicago fundraiser with Joshua Fardon. Co-hosted as Russette Timple with my brother Russ Timple. This was The Five Years On From Five Years On Salon.
March 2, 2024 – First full reading (online) of The Quarter Millennial Experience with Ubiquitous Players.
January and February 2024 – Scenes from my play-in-progress The Quarter Millennial Experience shared at Tuesdays@9.
Every Sunday and Monday – I guide three-to-four miles hike-n-shares with Rockford Fringe. Free but RSVP is mandatory.
December 21, 2023 – Produced 3rd Annual Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival for Rockford Fringe.
December 21, 2023 – My Perspective Snowfootin’ aired on 89.5 WNIJ, the NPR station for northern Illinois.
December 11, 2023 – Staged reading of my play Hotbed through Naked Angels Tuesdays@9 Chicago at Chicago Dramatists. 8:00 p.m.
December 5, 2023 – My 10-minute play The Lunker of the Lake was read at Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
November 7 & 14, 2023 – Guest Host for Naked Angels Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
October 31, 2023 – Performed ten minute performance art / spoken word as A Host of Golden Daffodils at Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
October 23, 2023 Wrote and recorded Where is Everyone? on 89.5 WNIJ, the NPR station for northern Illinois.
September 27, 2023 Wrote and recorded Give Barefootin’ a Try on 89.5 FM WNIJ, the NPR station for northern Illinois.
September 26, 2023. First scene of my new play The Quarter Millennial Experience was read at Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
September 12, 2023 Naked Angels Tuesdays@9 Chicago season opener.
August 13, 2023 – Host summertime Rockford Fringe’s Ugly Jam Session at The Annoyance Theatre from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Little Theater.
July 2023 – Hosted weekly barefoot hikes throughout northern Illinois for Rockford Fringe.
March 14, 2023 – Hosted springtime Ugly Jam Session at The Annoyance Theatre.
February 14, 2023 – Performed spoken word as A Host of Golden Daffodils at Tuesdays@9.
February 7, 2023 – Guest hosted Tuesdays@9 Chicago at The Annoyance Theatre.
December 22, 2022 – Produced Winter Solstice Poetry Caroling Festival on Rockford’s West Side.
November 19, 2022 – Performed at Truths As We Speak Them: A Storytelling Open Mic hosted by Dr. Ada Cheng at Bronzeville Historical Society in Chicago.
November 5, 2022 – Sang along to Forty-five Seconds by Robbie Ellis at Robbie’s Metric System album release party at The Annoyance.
November 1 and 7, 2022 – Guest hosted Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
October 29, 2022 – Performed spoken word for Atrocious Poets at Woodstock Train Station.
October 25, 2022 – Performed as A Host of Golden Daffodils for Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
September 13, 2022 – Performed standup / storytelling at Tuesdays@9 Chicago.
I am the producer for the Rockford Fringe. We host fringe festivals, jam sessions, podcasts, barefoot hikes, hike-n-shares, poetry caroling and more. Most of our events take place outdoors in Rockford but our popular Ugly Jam Session series takes place indoors in Chicago, usually at The Annoyance Theatre.
The best way to stay in touch with the Rockford Fringe is through our website. We are on Facebook and Instagram @rockfordfringe. And you can find the Rockford Fringe Podcast on Apple, Spotify and Anchor. That’s where I interview artists about their process, background and upcoming projects.
Radio Reporter
A few years ago (2018-2021), I fulfilled a lifelong dream and worked in radio as a reporter for 89.5 WNIJ, the NPR station for northern Illinois. I interviewed artists, scientists, politicians, civic leaders, survivors, environmentalists, naturalists, Paula Poundstone and a clown. It was a great job and I even won an Associated Press Broadcasters Award for my feature story on bird-banding. I had the job for nearly three years before I committed full-time to being a playwright, writer and producer. I miss reporting but my degree — and my training — and my experience — and my passion — is in theatre.
If you’re curious about the “radio side” of me, you can find more than 100 of my stories (including audio) by clicking here. I also hosted the arts series State of the Artist. Here’s a link to my artist interviews.
Playwriting & Directing
I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre from Cornell College and have written and directed more than 50 plays and films in Minneapolis, Chicago and Rockford. I’ve written for numerous 24-, 48- and 72-hour play and film festivals. My play The Mason Jar was a semi-finalist at the Turnip Theatre 15-Minute Play Festival in NYC. I’ve written 10-minute and one-act plays that have been staged, read or produced at Bedlam Theatre, Stages Theatre, Theatre Unbound, Riverside Theatre, Minnesota Fringe, Rockford Fringe, Tuesdays@9 Chicago, and Chicago Dramatists. I’ve directed several plays and films for Metropolitan Players, Minnesota Fringe, Tuesdays@9 Chicago, Bedlam Theatre, Spring Lake Park High School, B’Nai Emet Synagogue, Minneapolis-St.Paul International Film Festival, Word Film Festival (Albuquerque), On the Waterfront Film Festival (Rockford) and more. I have also written several plays-as-fundraisers for Tinker Swiss Cottage; Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center; Rockford Area Arts Council; Rockford Dance Company and Rockford Writers’ Guild.
Producer and Writer
In the summer of 2021, it wasn’t quite time to get back into the theaters, but it was time to do something. That “something” I wanted to do had to be safe, collaborative, creative and completely new so I wrote and produced a a mock talk show called The Stormy, Husky, Brawling Show. Five weekly episodes aired on Facebook and YouTube. This Chicago-based mock show humorously showed the desperate chaos of running a talk show under a tight deadline in run-down basement studio. Watch here.
Thank you for stopping by my website. Maybe we can work together sometime! -Connie
Connie Kuntz 