about

I am from Appalachia and Alaska – two landscapes separated geographically by mountains and politicized by the mineral wealth that landscape holds. They are places of sharp contrasts—poverty and wealth, good people in bad circumstances, magnificent landscapes devastated by strip mining, oil spills and climate change. My heart lives somewhere between these two homes and informs my work as I create landscapes that reflect the claustrophobic (Appalachian plays) and expansive (Alaska plays). Like me, the characters live in conflict between cultures, identity, and ideas that spring from the place in which they live. They are the forgotten, the freaks, the scarred, who face unimaginable hardships with heart and humor. 

My plays evoke a feeling of bluegrass music. There’s nothing flashy about bluegrass. When it’s good, it comes from sitting on a porch of an evening picking out a tune, or singing something acapella straight from the soul. No pretense, no amplification, it’s not overly polished. Mountain music is pure—one person singing out their experience, a high lonesome sound that resonates with the listeners’ experience. My plays remember the history and people that have been forgotten, past and present. Through the ritual of theatre, the disparate pieces of ourselves are brought together and reflect who we once were, who we are, and who we can be. 

Pioneer Peak, the view from my childhood home in Alaska

Pioneer Peak, the view from my childhood home in Alaska

The view from Signal Mountain, Tennessee

The view from Signal Mountain, Tennessee

The view from my kayak on the Hiawasee River in Tennessee

The view from my kayak on the Hiawasee River in Tennessee

 

Bio:

Stacey Isom Campbell’s plays include: THE LOOPHOLE (LORT-production, Barter Theatre / nomination, Susan Smith Blackburn Prize / selection, Great Plains Theatre Conference / semifinalist, O’Neill Center’s National Playwrights Conference); BUFFALO CREEK (finalist, Henley Rose Competition / finalist, The New Harmony Project / semifinalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival); WHEN MOUNTAINS MOVE (commission and production, Lee University); LAUNDRY AT THE COIN & SPIN (equity-showcase approved production and publication, The Collective: NY); MEMORY OF ICE (online production, Blank Theatre’s Living Room Series / semifinalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, Seven Devil’s Theatre Conference and O’Neill Center’s National Playwrights Conference); ON THE 8’s (winner, Dan I Rodden Jr Award / finalist, Rose Henley Playwriting Competition / selection, Great Plains Theatre Conference); SMOKIN’ DEVILS (selection, Appalachian Festival of Plays & Playwrights / 2nd place, Plays for the 21st Century / production, Red Clay Theatre). Her work has also been seen at the Pittsburgh New Works Festival, L.A. First Stage, EstroGenius Xtended, and others. 

Stacey is a Fellow of The Hambidge Center, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico, and Trillium Arts. She is a current member of the Dramatist’s Guild, New Play Exchange, and the Playwright’s Center.