Kirsten Bowen 2

Kirsten Bowen

Contributor

BSR Contributor Since January 28, 2020

Kirsten Bowen (she/her pronouns) is a South Philadelphia-based freelance dramaturg and arts writer.

Kirsten Bowen is a South Philadelphia-based freelance dramaturg and arts writer. Prior to moving to Philadelphia in 2019 she was the Literary Director at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company in Washington, DC and the Literary Associate at Signature Theatre Company in New York. She has also served as a dramaturg at the Kennedy Center's MFA Playwrights Workshop, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Columbia Stages, and for independent companies Parallel Exit and The Civilians. Her writing has been published in Howlround Theatre Commons, Samuel French’s magazine Breaking Character, and Playwrights Canada Press. Kirsten holds a BA in English and Theatre from Smith College and an MFA in Dramaturgy from the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at American Repertory Theater/ Moscow Art Theatre School at Harvard University.

By this Author

28 results
Page 1
Krys Malcolm Belc’s new memoir explores nonbinary birth and parenthood. (Image courtesy of Counterpoint Press.)

‘The Natural Mother of the Child’ by Krys Malcolm Belc

Redefining the parenthood memoir
In his new memoir, Philly writer Krys Malcolm Belc writes about his journey as a nonbinary gestational parent. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 3 minute read
A woman reckons with past heartbreak and her career’s future when she joins a rock band. (Image courtesy of Sourcebooks.)

‘The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes’ by Xio Axelrod

Women who rock
In Xio Axelrod’s new novel, love and ambition collide when a young guitarist joins an up-and-coming rock band. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 3 minute read
Class, colonialism, and mysticism enfold the lives of those living and vacationing in Madagascar’s Naratrany in Andrea Lee’s novel ‘Red Island House.’ (Image courtesy of Scribner.)

‘Red Island House’ by Andrea Lea

The country that claims you
Andrea Lee’s latest novel follows a family over 20 years as they visit their vacation home in Madagascar and witness and participate in the luxury, intrigue, and exploitation of the island and its residents. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 3 minute read
Quiara Alegría Hudes’s new memoir details the Pulitzer Prize winning playwright’s coming of age in Philadelphia. (Image courtesy of Penguin Random House.)

‘My Broken Language’ by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Beauty in brokenness
In her new memoir, playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes writes about coming of age as part of a large Puerto Rican family in North Philadelphia. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 4 minute read
Patrick Shields's debut novel is autobiographical fiction set at a boarding school in early 1990s Philadelphia. (Image courtesy of the author.)

‘Pinball’ by Patrick Shields

Graduation games
In Patrick Shields’s debut autobiographical novel, ‘Pinball,’ set in the early 1990s, we follow a senior at a North Philadelphia boarding academy as he reckons with his past, present, and future two weeks before graduation. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 3 minute read
Te-Ping Chen's debut story collection is both intimate and epic in its depiction of contemporary China. (Image courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.)

‘Land of Big Numbers’ by Te-Ping Chen

Paths of purpose
Te-Ping Chen’s debut story collection, ‘Land of Big Numbers,’ casts a wide net to explore contemporary China and its diaspora. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 3 minute read
What happens when a president would rather be liked than actually govern? (Image courtesy of the author.)

‘Utopia PR’ by Adam Bender

Work/life balance, and other disasters
In Adam Bender’s near-future political satire, a crisis communications manager troubleshoots disasters for a callow reality-television star turned president while trying to maintain a semblance of work/life balance. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Reviews 3 minute read
Courtney P. Hunter's debut novel explores the relationship between humanity and AI. (Image courtesy of the author.)

'Sentience' by Courtney P. Hunter

Painting humanity by numbers
In Philadelphia writer Courtney P. Hunter’s debut novel, 24 participants enter an experiment to determine who among them is human and who is an artificially intelligent robot. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Articles 3 minute read
Robin Wasserman's new Philadelphia-set novel traverses the slippery territory of memory and female identity. (Image courtesy of Scribner.)

‘Mother Daughter Widow Wife’ by Robin Wasserman

The mysteries inside
In Robin Wasserman’s new novel, a woman arrives in Philadelphia with no memory. Years later, her daughter sets out to find out what happened to her there, and why she has left again. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Articles 3 minute read
James McAdams's debut collection of short stories features people struggling with addiction, loss, and connection. (Image courtesy of Frayed Edge Press.)

‘Ambushing the Void’ by James McAdams

Salvation in others?
The inhabitants of ‘Ambushing the Void,’ the debut collection by Philly native James McAdams, search for connection and meaning wherever they can find it, but the tables are always turning. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Articles 3 minute read
Author Christina Rosso-Schneider and her dog Atticus Finch celebrate her debut story collection, ‘She is a Beast,’ at A Novel Idea on Passyunk. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

A Novel Idea’s Christina Rosso launches her debut book ‘She is a Beast’

Women take all
Local author Christina Rosso-Schneider’s debut is a collection of feminist fairy tales in which women fight against the “beasts” of the patriarchy—even by becoming beasts themselves. The co-owner of A Novel Idea on Passyunk talks to Kirsten Bowen about launching a book in the pandemic.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Articles 5 minute read
Liz Moore's suspenseful new novel follows a police officer whose sister struggles with addiction on the streets of Kensington. (Image courtesy of Riverhead Books.)

‘Long Bright River’ by Liz Moore

Women of Kensington
In Liz Moore’s first Philadelphia-set novel, police officer Mickey Fitzpatrick patrols the streets of Kensington searching for a killer who's targeting women with opioid addiction—one of whom may be her sister. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Articles 3 minute read
A compelling read for Philadelphia and beyond. (Image courtesy of G.P. Putnam's Sons.)

‘Such a Fun Age’ by Kiley Reid

Race and class in Rittenhouse Square
In Kiley Reid’s debut novel, Emira and her employer Alix navigate racism, privilege, and transactional relationships in 2015 Philadelphia. Kirsten Bowen reviews.
Kirsten Bowen

Kirsten Bowen

Articles 3 minute read
The team of 'Elephant Room: Dust from the Stars': Trey Lyford, Geoff Sobelle, and Steve Cuiffo. (Photo by Maria Baranova.)
John Francisco and the teachers discover what's in the treasure box. (Photo courtesy of Mister John's Music.)