Tamara Kissane Is 2020 Piedmont Laureate

From our friends at Raleigh Arts:

Tamara Kissane, a Durham-based dramatist and audio fiction writer, has been selected as the region’s 2020 Piedmont Laureate. During 2020, Kissane will appear at workshops, reading programs, and speaking engagements throughout Wake, Durham, and Orange counties.

The Piedmont Laureate program is dedicated to building a literary bridge for residents to come together and celebrate the art of writing. Co-sponsored by the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, Durham Arts Council, Orange County Arts Commission, and United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County, the Piedmont Laureate program’s mission is to “promote awareness and heighten appreciation for excellence in the literary arts throughout the Piedmont region.”

The program focuses on a different literary form each year, including poetry, novels, creative non-fiction, drama/screenwriting, children’s literature, short fiction, speculative fiction, and mystery fiction.

“Tamara Kissane is a flexible artist who wears many hats – actor, director, theatre producer – but it is quite clear that writing is her true artistic gift and calling,” says NC State University Theatre Production Director Rachel Klem. “Her true super-power lies in her use of rhythm. She is masterful in creating theatre that is dramatic and immersive as well as an exceptional experience for the listener.”

As Piedmont Laureate, Kissane will receive an honorarium and serve until Dec. 31. Her duties will include presenting public readings and workshops, participating at select public functions, and creating at least one original activity to expand appreciation of the work of dramatists in literature.

A schedule of the Laureate’s 2020 activities will be posted on the sponsoring agency websites and on the Piedmont Laureate website.

Tamara Kissane has been a playwright in Durham since 2002. Her stage plays have been produced by both hands theatre company, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern and Women’s Theatre Festival. Her stage plays, The New Colossus and Master Builder were commissioned and performed by Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern in 2016 and 2018. She is the host of Artist Soapbox, a weekly podcast featuring original audio fiction and interviews with Triangle/NC artists about their creative process. She has worked with University Theatre at NC State, Manbites Dog Theater, The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, Duke Theatre Studies, Transactors Improv, Summer Sisters, Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern, Archipelago, and both hands theatre company.

“I hope the 2020 Piedmont Laureate programming deepens the appreciation of emerging and established playwrights in our community, as well as offering inspiration and encouragement to new writers,” says Kissane. “I am passionate about the talent in this community and sharing our regional voices with the broader world.”

Kissane will be officially recognized as the 2020 Piedmont Laureate at the State of Arts and Culture in Wake County, at the North Carolina Museum of History on January 29, 2020 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public.

Raleigh Arts supports and promotes the arts in Raleigh by administering the programs of the City of Raleigh Arts Commission and the City’s Public Art and Design Board, and supporting the Pullen and Sertoma arts centers. Raleigh Arts is part of the City of Raleigh Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department.