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GOOD MOURNING Playwright


Joe Moe (Writer)

Joe Moe, Playwright Joe Moe is a 3rd generation artist descended from legendary Hawaiian entertainers, Pulu & Louisa Moe and the Tau Moe Family. He's a playwright, studio vocalist, screenwriter, FX artist, and dark ride designer for international theme parks. A horror genre figure, Joe was mentored by Forrest J Ackerman, editor of FAMOUS MONSTERS of FILMLAND magazine as well as heroes like Ray Bradbury and Kenneth Anger. A 3-time RONDO AWARD winner, Joe co-wrote the deconstructed slasher film, RED VELVET, has written and sung for Disney's THE BOOK OF POOH, Van Dyke Parks, Brian Woodbury, etc., and wrote books for musicals KILLA VANILLA, SPACE OPERA, and THAT PORN MUSICAL. Joe developed the unproduced musical THE PEOPLE OF SOUND & SILENCE with Tony-winning Deaf West Theater. His play, DENY WE WERE, was featured at Fresh Fruit Festival, NYC, May, 2022 and a number of 1-Acts performed at TOSOS in 2024. Joe's day job is as Hollywood Memorabilia Auction Director at Studio Auctions. ...more Moe


About the Show

      In 2022 I suffered the monumental loss we all dread; the death of a true love. That crushing event inspired me to write a 1-Act play, “Aggrieved,” to memorialize the experience. It was intended as a cathartic purge as well as a showcase for a pair of actor friends (Robert Maisonett and Garrett Taylor) to thank them for their brilliant work in my previous play, “Deny We Were.” Robert lamented that Aggrieved was too short to play alone. So, I offered two additional 1-Acts I’d recently written; “Rage Gap” and “Where’ve You Been.”

In regarding the trio all together, I was not surprised to find that they all shared themes of loss and death. However, I felt they also possessed my own desperate, intuitive insistence on living beyond loss. Further consideration revealed a heavily male-ccentric energy and cast. So, I created interstitial sequences of a mom grappling with trauma through an obsession with Social Media. “Good Mourning,” was born. I hope my play might offer insight to working through the excruciating absence of loved ones. I hope my stories ring true for fellow casualties of eternal goodbyes. I know death is a unique and solitary experience and that we may lean heavily on each other but have no power to heal anyone but ourselves. Sadly, if we succeed in the human task of living long enough, we will experience the passing of those we will never be prepared to live without. But live, we must!

I’d like to thank my talented cast and crew, who’ve embraced Good Mourning since its inception, contributing generously and meaningfully to its development, above and beyond any call of duty. - Joe Moe