Tegan Ware is a playwright and screenwriter based in the Illawarra. Tegan taps into characters impacted by cycles and systems through her intimate storytelling. She leans into darkness to deliver chilling, heart-wrenching stories that make intimate moments feel epic. She is currently completing her Masters in Dramatic Writing at NIDA and previously studied screenwriting through the UCLA Professional Program.

Ware’s play Cicada was shortlisted for the Patrick White Playwriting Award (2024) and developed through the MERRIGONG X Artist Program (2023 – 2025). Her screenwriting work has been selected in the top 20% of entries in the Austin Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and earned her a place in the Nostos Screenwriting Program in Italy (2024).

“In Ancient Greek myth, Cicadas are seen as humans who were so enchanted by music that they sang themselves to death and have since been reincarnated as animals to continue the cycle. Cicada reimagines this myth as a life cycle of a visual artist growing up in regional Australia and moving to the big city. From a kid who uses art as a lifeline to a professional artist who has fallen out of love with his craft. It is an exploration of memory and whether we can trust our own version of events, what compels us to create, and what happens when our creations become available for public consumption. It has been an immense privilege to explore different versions of the work and learn how to create my first play supported and trusted by the team at Merrigong. We’ve built an incredible team to create the world of Cicada with creatives from Wollongong and Sydney. Having the opportunity to stage this work in an actual art gallery cracks the work open in new and exciting ways.”