My name is Keith, and I am a queer playwright, lyricist, and composer based in the Twin Cities. I made my regional debut in 2019 at Park Square Theatre with my original absurd musical comedy, Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant. The musical was named top show of the year by the Star Tribune. My original musical, The Boy Wonder, about the life of former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, premiered at the History Theatre in 2023. I have also worked with Theater Mu, Mixed Blood, Fortune's Fool, Freshwater Theatre, and others.

In 2019, City Pages named me an Artist of the Year. I currently have musicals in development with the History Theatre and Trademark Theater.

My writing is often informed by growing up in rural Minnesota in a religious environment. This experience taught me about the grey area that exists between love and belief/nature and nurture.

I love exploring this dichotomy through stories centered on small communities/groups and the inherent tension that occurs when neighbors and friends come face-to-face with topics that challenge their understanding of the world. My artistic mission is to dissect issues such as queerness, religion, politics, power, and ethics with a blend of absurdity, darkness, humor, empathy, and heart.

While my focus is primarily on crafting musicals (script, music, and lyrics), I consider myself, first and foremost, a playwright who writes music. When working on a show, I approach songs as an extension of the dialogue. Each lyric serves as a melodic monologue that expands the world, capturing all the complex and contradicting emotions within one or multiple characters in a single moment. I use songs to bring in the magic and fantastical, allowing the music to hold double meanings, heighten subtext, and deepen the dramatic tension.

Contact: keith.hovis@gmail.com

Work that is currently in development:

1. Ostentatious Outlaws of Neehai Valley (book, music, and lyrics) - A new absurd musical about religious trauma and the intersection of religion and queerness is being developed with Trademark Theatre. I received a 2024 Creative Individuals Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board to support development through a workshop and public reading that will take place on February 10, 2025.
2. Rollicking! (music and co-lyrics) - A fantastical journey through the history and myth of the Saint Paul Winter Carnival. This piece is a commission from the History Theatre and is being written in collaboration with Rachel Teagle.
3. Mrs. Housel, a Suicide Suite (book, music, and lyrics) - This piece originally started as a 15-minute musical with Freshwater Theatre and was a featured performance at the 2014 Ivey Awards. I am currently working on developing it into a full-length. An exploration of mental health and the blurring of public narrative versus our personal truth, the show is loosely inspired by a Minnesota woman in the 1800s who was casual tabloid fodder for her repeated suicide attempts.