Hometown: Des Moines, Iowa
Faculty mentor: Lisa Schlesinger, MFA, professor and co-head of Playwrights Workshop, Department of Theatre Arts, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Degree program and anticipated graduation date: MFA in theatre arts (playwriting), 2027

A first-year MFA student in the Iowa Playwrights Workshop, and a former UI undergraduate major in English and Creative Writing, Darrin Terpstra creates plays that explore the interplay of religion and identity and more specifically, the historical experiences of queer people in the church. Terpstra’s plays include Backyard Alien, an exploration of the transgender and immigrant metaphors; This is My Body, a depiction of two queer pastors learning how to wrestle with God; and Ghost Town, a grief narrative in which two transgender people attempt to summon a ghost from a local legend.

Post-graduation, they plan to continue historical research as they write and stage plays.

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