Plays

The Storyteller

95 mins, 3W, 3M

17-year-old Randy has lived her entire life off the grid with her dad on an old rotting houseboat, and she’s sick of it. Inspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest, this play explores the magic and power of the narratives we create.

“This play skates right on the edge of fantasy and reality… full of twists and turns, surprises and delights. But also grief, isolation, longing. It’s a visceral experience of the truest love and the most painful loss that reflects how we shape stories, how they shape us, and what happens when they change … This world premiere is theater at its finest– beautifully written, emotionally resonant, and executed with artistry.” – Krista Garver, Broadway World

Read on New Play Exchange

Artists Repertory Theatre Photo Credit: Philip-J-Hatton

Production History

[2025] Production, Artists Repertory Theatre (Portland, OR) dir. Luan Schooler

[2025] University Production, Western Washington University (Bellingham, WA) dir. Kamarie Chapman

[2023] Winner, Angus Bowmer Award in Drama, Oregon Book Awards

[2022] Staged Reading, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, dir.
Mallory Metoxen

[2020] Winner, International Thomas Wolfe Playwriting Competition

[2020] Staged Reading, PlayMakers Repertory Company, dir. Vivienne Benesch

[2020] Semi-Finalist, Bay Area Playwrights Festival

[2019] Staged Reading, Spooky Action Theater’s New Works in Action Reading Series (Washington, D.C.) dir. Manna-Symone Middlebrooks

[2019] Finalist, O’Neill National Playwrights Conference

[2019] Staged Reading, Something Marvelous Festival of Magical Realism (Chicago, IL) dir. Claire Reinhart

[2018] Finalist, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference

[2018] Staged Reading, Artists Repertory Theatre (Portland, OR), as part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Work dir. Caitlin Fisher-Draeger

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Western Washington University

Western Washington University

Western Washington University

Western Washington University

Western Washington University

Press & Reviews

Review: Broadway World

“This world premiere is theater at its finest – beautifully written, emotionally resonant, and executed with artistry.” – Krista Garver, Broadway World

Review: ArtsWatch

“Despite this repeated reminder that what we’re watching isn’t real, we’re drawn into Accuardi’s story about storytelling, which is shown to be both dangerous and delightful.” – Linda Furguson, Oregon ArtsWatch

Arts & Entertainment

Arts & Entertainment Spotlight with Margaret Bikman on Western Washington University’s Febuary 2025 production

The Theater Analyst

The Theatre Analyst on Western Washington University’s Febuary 2025 Production

The Willamette Week

The Willamette Week 2023 Oregon Book Award Winners Announced

“Sara Jean Accuardi, an acclaimed Portland playwright… earned the Angus L. Bowmer Award for Drama for her work The Storyteller.”

Portland Tribune

Portland Tribune Sara Jean Accuardi Wins With THE STORYTELLER…

Playmakers

Press Release: WINNER OF FIRST INTERNATIONAL THOMAS WOLFE PLAYWRIGHTING COMPETITION ANNOUNCED!

“Sara’s play is about the power of the stories we tell, to and about ourselves. It’s tender, magical and full of surprises, and it brilliantly answers the Wolfe Competition’s call for ‘highly original, personal stories rooted in geographic place.’ Just like the best of Wolfe’s writing, Sara has deftly harnessed the tension of both wanting to run from your past, while simultaneously seeking to embrace and take ownership of it.”