Welcome to the playspace.
Come on in. I’m KJ Moran Velz - playwright, educator, and pre-licensed drama therapist.
Plays
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MOTHER MARY
A romcom about choice, lesbians, and Boston.
Taxi driver Jo Cruz knows the streets of Boston like the back of her hand, but no road map can prepare her for meeting Mary O’Sullivan, a Catholic school teacher with a boyfriend and a strict Irish mother. Despite rising tensions between their Irish and Puerto Rican communities, Mary and Jo start connecting over daily rides to work - sharing hot dogs, library books, and a lineage of islands under Catholic and colonial rule. But their new friendship takes a turn when Mary asks Jo to take her on a risky road trip where there’s no going back.
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 2025
WORKSHOP HISTORY
Boston Playwrights’ Theatre, 2025
Pride Plays, 2025
Signature Theatre, 2024
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EMPTY FRAMES
A heist play for elementary and middle school.
It’s been 20 years since the Bella Butler Museum was robbed of some of its most valuable works of art, and the case is still cold….until siblings Zina and Wilm find a vase in their home that looks suspiciously like one of the stolen pieces. They start to suspect their family may have been involved in the biggest art heist ever. It turns out, every parent has a past - but what happens when your kids start to uncover it?
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Imagination Stage, 2022
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Adlered Mind
A murder mystery for middle and high school.
The prestigious Adler Academy is a place where young girls dream of attending - some go to start their career paths, some go to learn about themselves, and some go to solve the mysterious disappearance of its founder, Adelaide Adler, who vanished without a trace in 1941. 80 years later, new student Ellie Ingram begins her first year at Adler, and she is the closest to discovering the truth - until she too disappears, leaving her sister Eliza and their new friends to pick up where she left off. Do Ellie and Adelaide share the same fate? Is the mystery more complex than it appears? And how can the past show us the way in navigating our present?
PRODUCTION HISTORY
Imagination Stage, 2021
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Lazarus Lovesong
A play with music about sexual assault and mental health for colleges and beyond.
In between concerts and classes, Lou is a student still reeling from her sexual assault a year ago. When she meets a new guy, she must face her anxieties head-on and figure out how to be intimate without reliving the trauma of her past. A dramedy about the friends, poets, and bands that get us through our darkest moments, Lazarus Lovesong is the soundtrack of Lou’s resurrection and an ode to survivors everywhere.
WORKSHOP HISTORY
Page to Stage at the Kennedy Center, 2018
Developed in Georgetown University’s Hope Playwriting Seminar, 2018
Drama Therapist
Theoretical Approach
I believe strongly in a client-centered approach to therapy. Person-centered counseling is a non-directive, collaborative experience where I work closely with you to connect in the here and now.
The client-counselor therapeutic alliance is the foundation of our work together. As your therapist, I immerse myself in your vision and goals to support you in bringing awareness to and alignment with your ideal self.
Practical Approach
Drama is all about the here and now. It’s one of our most ephemeral art forms (besides Snapchat).
Together, we will enter the playspace to create, explore, and play. The play’s the medicine. No theatre experience is necessary for drama therapy — all that’s needed is you.
What are you talking about?
I am currently pursuing my Master of Arts in Drama Therapy with a License in Mental Health Counseling (LMHC) at Lesley University.
According to the North American Drama Therapy Association, “drama therapy is s the intentional use of drama and/or theater processes to achieve therapeutic goals…[it’s] an embodied practice that is active and experiential. This approach can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis. Through drama, the depth and breadth of inner experience can be actively explored and interpersonal relationship skills can be enhanced.”
Drama is ephemeral. So is a lot of life, including many of our feelings. When we look to the here and now, we can bring awareness to what we truly want.
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5+ Years of Arts Administration
Over 1,000 students taught
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8+ Years of Playwriting
In comedy, drama, and TYA
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Educator
Inclusive, thoughtful theatre education for all ages
