Rand Higbee, a playwright who has called the Oregon coastal town of Yachats home since 2018, spent much of his adult life crafting comedies that echo the rhythms of his childhood and the landscapes that shaped him.
Roots on the Oregon Coast
Growing up amid the rugged shoreline, Higbee found his first stage in community theater, a space that introduced him to the collaborative spark that later defined his career. His closest friend, Kurt Bauer, shared those early nights of improvisation, a bond that continues to inform the warmth and wit of Higbee’s scripts.
Over the past 40 years the playwright has amassed a catalog of dozens of plays, many of them comedies that mine his passions for baseball, science fiction, and superhero mythology. The result is a body of work that feels both intimate and universally resonant, allowing audiences from the Midwest to Seoul to see reflections of their own stories on stage.
His most recent effort, titled *Rice Sam*, revisits the legendary 1925 World Series catch by baseball icon Sam Rice, weaving athletic drama with Higbee’s signature humor. The play has already been staged at the Valdez Theatre Conference in Alaska, where it was part of a 16‑year streak of presentations that have made the conference a proving ground for new scripts.
International interest has followed, with Higbee’s *Oh, No! I Flew Too Close to the Sun* debuting at Seoul’s Seoul Players in 2025, a production that earned praise from local critics for its blend of speculative fiction and comic timing. Coverage from DC Metro Theatre Arts highlighted the play’s inventive staging and the playwright’s ability to translate coastal nostalgia into a global language.
Back in Waldport, Higbee participates in a tight‑knit writing group that meets at the Waldport Library, where peers provide feedback that sharpens his drafts and keeps his voice fresh. The group’s influence is evident in works like *The Lightning Bug*, a superhero tale that garnered the Wisconsin Wrights award and has become a staple in high school drama programs nationwide.
Though his sister’s care initially brought him to Yachats, Higbee has embraced the coast as more than a temporary refuge; it is now the backdrop against which his characters live, love, and laugh. His ongoing projects promise to keep the region’s quirky charm alive on stages far and near.