• Source: Marie Kohler

      • Marie House Kohler (born 1951) is an American writer and playwright. She is a member of the Kohler family of Wisconsin.


      Biography


      Playwright, theater producer, director and writer, Marie Kohler is the daughter of John Michael Kohler III and Julilly House. Raised in Kohler, Wisconsin at Riverbend, the home built by her grandfather Gov. Walter J. Kohler in 1923. Marie Kohler graduated from Kohler High School in 1969 and holds an Honors BA from Harvard University (1973, Magna Cum Laude) and an MA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee(1979) – both degrees in English Literature.
      Kohler co-founded Renaissance Theaterworks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1993, with four other female theater professionals to create more opportunities for women in theater. She served there as Co-Artistic Director until 2013 and as Resident Playwright through 2019.


      Career/personal life


      Kohler's interest in theater began early, when her mother took her to local and national productions. She formed the first drama club of her high school, earning her the school's first "Humanities Award." In college, she performed with the Harvard Dramatic Society, where she met Colin Cabot; they married in 1974. The couple moved back to Wisconsin where Cabot worked at the Skylight Music Theatre. After the birth of their daughter, Anne, the family moved to Europe for a year when Cabot served as assistant to opera composer Gian Carlo Menotti in Scotland and Italy. When the couple returned to Milwaukee, Kohler began her master's work at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, completing her degree in 1979. Their second daughter, Marie Christine, was born the same year. In 1980, Kohler began freelancing as a journalist for various Milwaukee- and Wisconsin-based publications, as well as national publications, such as American Theater Magazine and National Trust Magazine.
      In the mid-1980s, Kohler and Cabot separated, and Kohler turned her attention to acting, writing plays and freelance journalism.
      In 1989, Kohler met Brian Mani while performing in Great Expectations; they married in 1992. Mani had a daughter, Tricia Hooper. Kohler has written several roles for Mani, a classically trained actor with American Players Theatre; they have worked often together on plays she has produced or directed. She has written six plays, all professionally produced and garnering strong notice and awards. The Milwaukee Arts Board named her Artist of the Year (2005).
      Kohler serves on the board of the Wisconsin Humanities Council and commits herself to environmental, cultural and social causes.


      Written Works




      = A Girl of the Limberlost (1993)

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      Adapted from Gene Stratton Porter's 1909 classic novel.
      Premiere Production: Children's Theater of Madison, Madison, WI, 1993
      Published by YouthPLAYS


      = Counting Days (1995)

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      Premiere Production: Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee, WI, 1995


      = Midnight and Moll Flanders (2000)

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      Premiere Production: Renaissance Theaterworks in collaboration with University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, 2000
      Published by Dramatic Publishing


      = Boswell's Dreams (2005)

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      Premiere Production: Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee, WI, 2005


      = The Dig (2008)

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      Premiere Production: Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee, WI, 2009


      = Witch House (2015)

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      = Boswell (2019)

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      Adapted from BOSWELL'S DREAMS.
      Premiere Production: Festival Fringe, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2019
      Published by Dramatic Publishing


      = Maybe We'll Fly, At the Witch House (in development)

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      Directing credits




      = Productions

      =
      OLD COMISKEY PARK by Peter Filichia, Within These Walls Monologue Festival, Forward Theater Co. – 2021
      HAPPY DAYS by Samuel Beckett, Renaissance Theaterworks – 2020
      BOSWELL by Marie Kohler (co-directed with Laura Gordon), Edinburgh Fringe Festival – 2019
      DEAR ELIZABETH by Sarah Ruhl, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre – 2015
      THE KREUTZER SONATA by Nancy Harris, Renaissance Theaterworks – 2015
      HONOUR' by Joanna Murray-Smith, Renaissance Theaterworks – 2012
      A PHOENIX TOO FREQUENT by Christopher Fry, Renaissance Theaterworks – 2012


      = Staged Readings

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      THE CHILDREN by Lucy Kirkwood, Third Avenue Playhouse (via Zoom) – 2021
      DUCK by Christine Kallmann, St. John's on the Lake – 2017
      DUCK by Christine Kallmann, Brink New Plays, Renaissance Theaterworks – 2016
      TRIFLES by Susan Glaspell, American Players Theatre – 2016
      FOG by Eugene O’Neill, American Players Theatre – 2016
      CENSORED ON FINAL APPROACH by Phylis Ravel, Milwaukee VA Medical Center – 2013
      'THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST by Oscar Wilde, Renaissance Theaterworks – 2005


      Journalism


      Kohler has been a freelance journalist for Wisconsin and national publications since 1980. She has written film reviews for the Milwaukee Sentinel; theater reviews for Art Muscle; feature articles for Milwaukee Magazine; essays for Milwaukee Footlights, Shepherd Express and The Wisconsin Academy Review; and pieces for American Theater Magazine. She has also been published in National Trust Magazine, Great Lakes Stages and Milwaukee Metro.
      Her articles explore a range of subjects – from Wisconsin's tradition of Friday night fish fries to Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture to airport mosaics to trends in theater and film.


      = American Theatre Magazine

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      A Volley of Plays
      X Marks the Spot


      = Shepherd Express

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      Milwaukee's Grassroots Storytellers - Ex Fabula’s community-building ‘Close Encounters’
      From Milwaukee to Broadway and Back - A conversation with Chike Johnson
      Fabulous Stories - Ex Fabula’s new Executive Director Megan McGee
      Listening, Not Just Talking! Anne Strainchamps on Wisconsin Public Radio
      INVIVO's Maurice Dumit on Health and Fitness
      Leslie Fitzwater: 'Once More with Feeling'…Piaf
      CORE/El Centro's Healing Center
      Secrets of the Milwaukee Public Museum
      Beans and Barley's Long-Term Success
      Dialogue with Laura Gordon
      Josh Jaszewski - Theatergoer Extraordinaire
      The Renewed Surprising Appeal of Mah Jongg
      Indian Mounds: Wisconsin's Priceless Archaeological Treasures
      Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Street Vision
      Carlos Alves Beautifies Mitchell Airport
      Dermond Peterson's Stunning, Milwaukee-Made Textiles
      Bringing the Story Home
      The Look of Law and Money


      = Milwaukee Magazine

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      Old Money
      The Gathering


      = Wisconsin Academy Review

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      MIDSUMMER in October - An End of Season Bow


      = Milwaukee Metro

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      The Sendik Legacy


      = Milwaukee Footlights

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      A Carver of Bears


      Awards




      = A GIRL OF THE LIMBERLOST

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      Julie Harris Playwright Award, Beverly Hills Theatre Guild, Honorable Mention - 2014


      = COUNTING DAYS

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      Best New Regional Play, American Theatre Critics Association - 1995
      New Play Festival, Charlotte Repertory Theatre, Finalist - 1995
      Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, Nominee - 1995


      = MIDNIGHT and MOLL FLANDERS

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      Best New Play - Milwaukee Magazine - 2000
      Inkslinger Playwriting Competition, Semi-finalist - 2018


      = BOSWELL'S DREAMS

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      Susan Smith Blackburn Prize - Nominee - 2005
      Best of Year - Milwaukee Magazine - 2005
      Abingdon Award - Finalist - 2005
      Wisconsin Wrights - Finalist - 2005


      = THE DIG

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      Susan Smith Blackburn Prize - Nominee - 2009
      Playwrights' Center Lab - Finalist - 2009
      Playwrights First - Semi-finalist - 2009


      = WITCH HOUSE

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      Todd McNerney Playwriting Award, Finalist - 2017
      Wisconsin Wrights New Play Festival, Finalist - 2017


      = Career Awards

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      Artist of the Year, Milwaukee Arts Board, 2005
      Friend of the Arts, Milwaukee Arts Board, 2020
      Fellow, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, 2024


      References




      External links


      Official website

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