Tee O’Neill, PhD is an award-winning Australian playwright and author whose work explores the unstable borders between belonging and exile. From New York to Dublin, Singapore to the Royal Court in London, her plays and her book Writing the Biographical Drama have taken her around the world, always circling back to the same question: what stories do we create in order to survive?
Tee's Latest Play:
The Horse's Mouth
What if the most honest character onstage were a horse?
A horse fleeing a slaughterhouse found a homeless teenager, Gale living in a shed. Nine years later, Gale and Storm are the golden pair of international eventing — until Storm’s breakdown in a televised high profile dressage test, forces Gale to face the truth: the bond that once saved them both may have become a cage.
Other Plays by Tee O'Neill
Barassi: The Stage Show
BARASSI The Stage Show tells the story of football legend, Ron Barassi. The Sydney Morning Herald writes ‘a slick and cannily directed show sure to please diehard footy fans, and anyone with an interest in the game’s history and character… this is a winner: good writing, committed performances and astute direction do justice to the man and the game.’
Shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier Literary Awards.
Yellingbo
A fresh, ingenious and darkly witty drama about the vulnerability of asylum seekers in Australia, set in an ordinary living room where all appears ordinary… until it isn’t. Sold out season at La Mama. Review I was riveted from start to finish. RL Smith in Melbourne Stage Online
Requiem for the 20th Century
At the turn of the century, Cassandra is bestowed an unusual gift from the Russian mystic and prophet Rasputin.
Nominated for an Australian Writer’s Guild Award.
‘The Age’ writes: ‘Tee O’Neill’s Requiem for the 20th Century is a daring and hugely ambitious theatrical epic. .. conjured through terrifically versatile performances…… it has a quirky sense of humour that cuts to the heart of history.’
The Book
Writing the Biographical Drama
Plays and films based on real people have entertained and enlightened audiences for centuries. Biographical dramas, in high demand, are among the most profitable genres for stage and screen today.
So why is there a dearth of books to guide playwrights and screenwriters who want to write a successful, engaging biodrama?
Writing the Biographical Drama fills that void. Dr O’Neill offers a thoughtful, artfully written, practical, and academically rich book designed to equip writers to grow in the craft of biodrama writing.
Learn with Tee
Courses
Online course (self-paced)
Writing the Biographical Drama
Have you got a real life story that must be told?
Biopics and stage plays based on real lives are loved by audiences: think Oppenheimer, I, Tonya, Amadeus, or Elvis. But most scriptwriting manuals won’t help you overcome the particular problems facing the bio-dramatist.
This course will fast-track you in the process of writing a biodrama for stage or screen. It’s an immersive experience that will supercharge your creative output as you develop a full first draft of your script.
Online course (self-paced)
Transform your writing life
Have you got that dreadful feeling that you are letting yourself down? That you’re not living the creative life that you long for?
This course is designed to inspire and activate writers like you to write with ease and confidence.
Once you become aware of the (very common) patterns that are destructive to a creative life, you can shift your mindset and build a new series of writing habits.