Kate Isabel Foley

Dramatic Writer

2026, she/her MFA, Dramatic Writing

Kate Isabel Foley (she/her) is a bisexual playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Her storytelling plays with whimsy, queerness, mental health, womanhood, the inner child, and reinterpreting the stories we thought we knew—sometimes all at once.

As a playwright, Kate’s work features everything from intimate family dramas, to sweeping fantasy adventures, to detailed portraits of underrepresented historical figures. She strives to center women in all her stories, and takes particular pride when she can do so by adapting classic tales that have been told from a male point of view. A “typical Kate play” involves complex internal worlds, large ensembles, and a heavy dose of magic. Captain Darling—Kate’s dark reimagining of Peter Pan that centers Mrs. Darling—had its world premiere in 2024 at the Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Jo Van Gogh–the story of the woman responsible for solidifying Vincent van Gogh’s legacy–enjoyed a workshop and staged reading at City Theatre as part of its 2025 Momentum Festival in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Kate is an avid television fan, particularly when it comes to series that contain fast-paced dialogue (a la Sorkin and Sherman-Palladino), found family, ensemble casts, slow-burn romances, and life-or-death stakes (whether in the form of murder mysteries, monster hunting, or impossible surgical operations). She is sure to be the number-one fan of any project produced by Shondaland. She is also eagerly awaiting a Supernatural revival series (or film–she’s not picky). Kate’s current pilot scripts include She Did It (a 1-hour drama/thriller: Broadchurch meets Maid), Off-Off-Broadway (a half-hour comedy: Schitt’s Creek meets Ted Lasso, but for theatre kids), and Unmanned (a 1-hour sci-fi drama: The Leftovers meets Manifest).

In film, Kate loves slice-of-life stories, deeply psychological themes, and bittersweet or ambiguous endings. Kate’s screenplay Beneath the Surface won her a third-place award in the Alfred P. Sloan Script Competition (2025) for the best screenplay or pilot furthering the public understanding of science and technology. Beneath the Surface was also named a Second Rounder in the Austin Film Festival Drama Feature category (2025), a distinction granted to only 20% of submitted scripts.

Kate holds a B.A. in English and Theater, with distinguished honors, from Ursinus College and is a current Dramatic Writing MFA student at Carnegie Mellon University. You can follow her on Instagram at @kateifoley and visit her website at kateisabelfoley.com.

Work Samples

Captain Darling

Written by Kate Isabel Foley
Directed by Dr. Meghan Brodie
Ursinus College Theater – April 2024
Photography Credit: Mark Garvin

Pride and Prejudice at Pemberley College

Written by Kate Isabel Foley
Directed by Kate Isabel Foley
Ursinus College Theater (Distinguished Honors Presentation) – April 2023
Photography Credit: Phoebe Tompkins

Jo Van Gogh

Written by Kate Isabel Foley
Directed by Aurelia Clunie
City Theatre’s Momentum Festival – December 2025