Meet the Playwrights
Brendan Bourque-Sheil
Playwright / Landing Literary Associate
Brendan joins The Landing Theatre Company as one of three Literary Associates. He is in charge of Landing Local: New Works Initiatives, which involves special projects focused on the local writing community. He is a Houston-based playwright and storyteller with a BA in English from Texas State University. His first full-length play, The Book of Maggie, premiered at Stages Repertory Theatre, in 2016 and was called "one of the most refreshing original works to come out of Houston in some time," by BroadwayWorld.com. The play was later revived in Chicago by Death and Pretzels Theater Company. He's a frequent contributor to the monthly live show Grown Up Storytime, and KPFT's So What's Your Story. He regularly teaches for the Alley Theatre's Department of Education and Community Engagement in programs such as Playwriting 360°, First Draft, and the Alley Conservatory. In addition, he teaches playwriting at Houston's High School of Performing and Visual Arts.
Esme Wu
Playwright
Esme L. Wu is a Houston playwright, actress, and educator who received her MA in Playwriting from Royal Holloway, University of London, where she graduated with Distinction in 2012. Her original works include Tuning In (White Bear Theatre/London), In the Absence of Grace (MISK Theatre/London, Bierkeller New Writing Platform/Bristol), and Metanoia (MISK Theatre/London), All of This Seems True (workshop reading at Soho Theatre/London), and The Mariner (Cohen New Works Festival at UT Austin). In addition to playwriting and acting, she is one of two playwriting instructors for the Alley Conservatory, and manages in-school programs for the Alley Theatre, which delivers over 800 hours of Arts Education programming in the Greater Houston Area each school year.