Long time, no see . . .

Hi. I am objectively terrible at updating this part of my website. Guilty. But if you are reading this (and I don’t really know if . . . anybody is?), my name is Jeff and I’m a well-socialized introvert who does not enjoy talking about themselves, so the 21st century is maybe not my optimal timeline. That said, it’s the one I’m in, so . . .

I’m writing this at the end of a long day in Western Nebraska, where I am hanging out with my mother for a bit while she navigates some real-life stuff. And if I’m being honest, most of the days here are long. (But I mean, like . . . literally - as in, there seem to be extra hours squeezed into the 24-hour format, which my husband would swear is true. You can ask him.) TODAY’s long day, though, was so joyful, because it started with an announcement that a little musical I wrote with my writing partner Will Van Dyke called fuzzy is going to have its world premiere this July at Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts, and I honestly could not be more bowled over by the both the fact of this and the truth of it.

Because I have written a lot of things, and I am here to tell you the thing we all know: you can write ‘em, but getting ‘em done is NOT EASY. And by “not easy” I mean “possibly impossible.” But this little musical has made its way with what seems like some sweet sparkly fairy dust attached to it. We wrote it, brought our collaborating director and music director (Ellie Heyman and Patrick Sulken, actual magical artists) on-board, and did a week-long workshop of it with some other actual magical artists and not even a year later, here we are: on the season of a theatre that I have seen so many wonderful things at that I can’t even pinch myself to see if I’m sleeping because the pinches would leave bruises.

All of which is to say . . . I’m going to try to leave more updates here just in case you come back to read more. I’ll start by promising that in a couple weeks I’ll drop in here and give a little summary of our next workshop, which we’re doing in NYC just after Valentine’s Day to get ready to actually do the thing this summer. So if you ARE here, come back in a couple weeks. I can’t promise it’ll be interesting, but I can promise it will have . . . like . . . words describing an experience. And maybe I’ll even take a picture.

For now, I’ll just leave you with a picture of what I see every morning here in Western Nebraska when I take my walk, almost inevitably as the sun is coming up.

The world is a pretty place. Or it can be. I try to remember that every day. Today it went out of its way to remind me.

Thanks for dropping by. Nice to see you.

Pandemic theatre (no likes, but still . . . recommended?)

I seriously doubt anybody’s tuning in to my little website for my deep thoughts, or for a diary of my exploits. If you’re here, I’m glad you are. If nobody’s here, I’m just one more dog barking at the stars on a crisp, winter night. But I will say this: I am heading home to NYC after making a play in Utah and I am tired.

I mean, like, really tired.

Not of making the play. Writers get to do it so few times in our lives, so I’m not tired of it. I want to do it again. And again. And again. But I am aware of (and humbled by) the fact that I’ve gotten to do it several times in my life, so I shouldn’t be greedy. Knowing that I shouldn’t be greedy doesn’t preclude me from wanting to be; but that’s a thought for another day. Let’s get back to the main thought: I’m tired.

The reason? We made a play that I never intended to be about a pandemic in the middle of a pandemic, and the play, it turns out, to some (most?) of the people who see it is about a pandemic. Or the beginnings of one. And I am here to say that making a play right now is NOT. EASY. I mean, it never is, but right now? It’s nigh on impossible.

But we got there. The wheels were rumbling very near to the ends of their axles almost every day, and yet, we got there. It’s a testament to every single person involved, both inside the room and outside it, that we did. And when I say every single person, I mean literally every single one. Wes Grantom (director) was juggling knives wrapped in barbed wire the entire time . . . Yoon Bae (sets and costumes), Samantha Wootten (wigs and makeup), Brian Tovar (lights) and Will Van Dyke (original music) spent the entire design/composition process slalom skiing down a hill made of ice, and still crossed the finish line without ever hitting a flag, all the while creating one of the most beautiful worlds for a play I’ve ever seen . . . Ora Jones, Meredith Holzman, Mark H. Dold, Barzin Akhavan, Turna Mete, Grayson DeJesus, Alexis Grace Thomsen, Victoria B. Wolfe, Marco Say and Connor Mamaux-Patridge (the phenomenal acting company) somehow stayed focused, positive and intensely, brilliantly creative every minute of every day in ways that I still can’t quite believe . . . Jennifer Gregory and Emily Griffith (the stage management team) herded all the kittens through the piles of string without a single kitten ever getting lost . . . and that’s just the rehearsal room.

The institution itself - Pioneer Theatre Company, the resident theatre of Salt Lake City - is a remarkable place. The staff has been THROUGH IT. Yes, like every theatre in America, but also . . . so much more. Their last couple years have been full of heartbreaking challenges, and yet they remain diligent and supportive and, most importantly, kind.

Kindness, is turns out, is the cure all. Or, if not the actual cure, at least the remedy that keeps everybody looking ahead instead of behind. Which is, it turns out, all we can ever do. Look ahead.

So, we made a thing. It opened. It’s running. People are coming. And even though the play is, through no intention of the geeky little playwright who dreamed it up, possibly a little too intense for the current moment, since it feels like it is ABOUT the current moment . . . even though an audience member told me after seeing it the first weekend that after seeing it she wanted to “run away” - she didn’t. She stayed. She talked to me. So, she didn’t run at all. And that is a reflection of her bravery, for sure, but also an indication to me of the thing that I keep coming back to:

What we do matters.

It’s hard to remember it when it’s tough. But it’s worth trying to. We don’t get rich doing it. We are often saddled with conditions, both emotionally and practically, that can challenge us in ways we never anticipated. But, when all is said and done, if we can get to one person who feels like running away and help them feel slightly less alone, slightly more engaged, slightly more . . . you know . . . more, it matters.

The stories we tell matter.

So, I guess I’m recommending it - all of it. Doing it during a pandemic. Doing it about a pandemic. All of it. Because it matters.

And I desperately hope I get to do it again.

More to come soon, but first . . .

. . . here’s the key artwork for the world premiere of my play The Messenger, coming to Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City UT - Jan. 14 - 29, 2022.

Some thoughts on being bad at sharing news. (And also some news.)

I’m not great at the news sharing thing. And by not great, I mean I haven’t added a news post here for three years. Which is . . . NOT. GREAT. I realize the last 13 months deserve a big ol’ pass for all the reasons we all know. (If you’re looking for some support on this topic, you should check out the terrific NY Times article about “languishing” because it’ll probably make you feel either (a) better or (b) at least part of a comforting crowd.) But still, I should be better about it. And I promise I’ll try. I mean, actually promise to actually try. (Which is different from promising to actually do it, but see above re: the last 13 months.) ANYWAY. It’s Thursday, the sun is shining, and I’m thinking about the next 13 months, so why not? I know finding things to look forward to beyond, say, dinner tonight, has been a challenge for all of us, but there are some things coming into my world in the next year, and I have a News page on my website, so . . . here are several things that are coming!*

1. In June, Will Van Dyke and I will be releasing an EP of songs we wrote in the last year with his new band, appropriately called The Will Van Dyke Band! The EP is called The Mayor, and it’s 7 songs that we are extremely fond of and proud to share. (We wrote more, and it’s extremely possible they’ll be coming your way later in the year, but DON’T RUSH THE NEWS.)

2. Also in June, I’ll be heading to Southeast Missouri State University to take part in their first-ever Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival! Out of over 700 submissions, they have chosen my play Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors as one of 5 finalists for the Lanford Wilson New American Play Award, and I’ll be there for a week working on the play and meeting other playwrights and I’m really looking forward to it.

3. In December, I’ll be heading back to Salt Lake City to start rehearsal (yes, actual REHEARAL) for the world premiere of my play The Messenger at Pioneer Theatre Company. This is the play I was working on last March when everything in the world went sideways. I was at Pioneer with my long-time collaborator Wes Grantom working on this play about a mysterious disease that is beginning in a community just as a mysterious disease was beginning in OUR community and it was a cuh-razy ride. Now we’re going to do that play for real, and I’m very excited about it. I’m pretty sure more news will be appearing on that front as the months roll by.

There we go. That’s some actual news that I actually shared. I’ll update this feed with some more regularity moving forward (he said, with the very best of intentions). Thanks for stopping by. And remember two things: (a) wearing a mask is the smallest thing we can do to take care of others and taking care of others is so much better than not and (b) support theatre and theatre artists in any way you can - it’s been a brutally hard year for this industry, and anything you can do to help would make a huge difference. Talk to you soon.

*By the way, I know it goes without saying, but “things that are coming up” are, if we’ve learned anything in the last year, always subject to sudden and often surprising change.

Here we go again. Plus a song.

Opening night. Two crazy words that go together in a way that sounds momentous but actually are just two more words at the end of one process and beginning of another. Tonight i opens at Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City, Utah after a truly thrilling month of working on the play with a roomful of probably geniuses. Karen Azenberg, the Artistic Director of the theatre, has directed the play with so much grace and smarts - constantly challenging me to look for the best answer. And the cast (see post below) dove in from minute one with big open hearts willing to be broken, and smart questions every day. It is designed by Paul Tate Depoo III, Jax Messenger, Gregory Gale, Will Van Dyke, Kate Wecker and Amanda French in ways I could never have imagined. It's a little play in a big theatre, and they have made an incredible world for this play to take its shot in.

All of which is to say, I'm grateful. And hopeful. And tonight we'll start sharing it with people officially. And then, we'll see . . .

A rehearsal shot. Not the clothes. Not the finished lighting cue. And yet . . . look at how beautiful that is. Look at those beautiful people. I mean . . .

And. AND! A couple of days ago, Will Van Dyke and I released a new song! It's called "I Hate to Love You" and is sung by the inarguably fantastic Daniel Quadrino, and we like it. If you want to check it out, by all means, go to iTunes or Amazon and give it $.99 worth of your love. It might make your day a little funner.

That's it. Just thought an update was in order. If you're reading this, thanks. Always. Thanks. (I get sentimental on opening night. Don't worry. Tomorrow I'll be cranky again.)

News from a terrible news-poster.

I should post updates more often. I should also eat less sugar. It's still January, so I guess those both live in ResolutionLand, don't they? Here's the latest:

I just arrived in Salt Lake City to start rehearsals for the world premiere of my play i at Pioneer Theatre Company. The play was workshopped at Pioneer last year as part of their Play-By-Play New Works Festival, and Karen Azenberg (Artistic Director extraordinaire) chose to not only give the play a home in the 2017-18 season, but to helm it herself. That's suuuuuper cool. It's a tiny little play going into a great, big theatre, but it deals with some of those big and messy ol' universals that keep us all in the game - like, how do you find love when your heart is in tiny little shards and what do you do to find happiness in a world that is intent on bringing the sad? You know, the little questions. It's got a kick-ass quartet of actors, and I honestly couldn't be more excited.

Kathleen McElfresh

Todd Gearheart

Nafeesa Monroe

Colleen Baum

I mean . . . that's a murderer's row of straight-up killers. I'm lucky and excited and scared and all the right things. If you find yourself in the mountains skiing in February, come join us - performances start February 16.

When I get home in March, I go into rehearsals with the amazing Wes Grantom (who directs plays like Stradivarius made violins and just happens to be my friend, too) on a piece we've been working on for the past year. I was commissioned by Montclair State University in New Jersey to create a new play for a large cast of college-age actors, and we have come up with something we're pretty proud of. It's an attempt to look with a clear eye (and maybe a little bit of hope) at how communications break down whenever people give a shot at governing. I know, that doesn't seem topical at all right now, but I do the best I can. It's called Civics and Humanities for Non-Majors, and I'll be saying more about it when it gets closer. It performs at Montclair State in April.

There's more going on, but those are the two biggies to get 2018 off and rolling. Check back soon - and I promise to write something every once in awhile (while not eating sugar . . .). Happy new year.

An opening. A reading. And the future.

On Sunday, March 12, THE GRAVEDIGGER'S LULLABY will open off-Broadway at Theatre Row in NYC, produced by TACT and directed by Jenn Thompson.  To say that it has been an amazing experience would be an understatement.  At the very, very least we have put together something of which we are all very proud, and that represents what we hoped the play would be.  If you can join us, please do.  You can see some pictures of the show HERE.

KK Moggie and Ted Koch.

In late February and early March, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre and Colt Coeur joined forces to present a workshop of THREE RULES FOR THE DRAGON that culminated in a public reading on March 6.  It featured Zachary Quinto, Marin Ireland, Babak Tafti and Madeleine Rogers and was directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt.  It was a great chance to work on the play, and inch forward to a produced version of this play of which I am very proud.

And what's next? I am working on a commission of a brand-new play for Montclair University in New Jersey.  That will arrive in a production at Montclair in March of 2018.  But before that, Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City will be producing the world-premiere production of my play i in January/February of 2018.  I'm very excited about this (where excited=terrified), and more news on this will emerge as the production develops.  But it's part of an exciting season at Pioneer, and I'm pretty proud to be a part of it.

A reading. Then rehearsal. Then a play.

I'm slow with the news, even when there's plenty of it.  This is a fact.  But the next couple of months are busy and exciting, so here's a little of the news.  I head to Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City for a January 27-28 reading of my newest play i, traveling from NYC with Wes Grantom, friend and constant directing cohort, and handsome and extremely talented Todd Gearhart and joining three actors in Utah (Susannah Florence, Colleen Baum and Alexandra Harbold) for the fun.  It's a play I'm proud of, and am honored to get a chance to give it a look-see with the fantastic folks at Pioneer.

Then (and by then, I mean immediately upon returning, like, the next day), rehearsals start in NYC at TACT for the world premiere of The Gravedigger's Lullaby.  Directed by my other friend and constant directing cohort Jenn Thompson, we have one of those dreamy casts that makes you aware that occasionally you just have to sit back and appreciate your luck.  I'm putting their pictures here, because they are good looking and I like having their pictures here.  The show runs February 28 - April 1, and I honestly, truly hope you join us.  I'm ridiculously excited.

Ted Koch

KK Moggie

Todd Lawson

Jeremy Beck

I won't lie - there are a couple of other things going on; but I can't share them yet.  And I know, that's the worst.  So, I'm the worst.  Deal with it.  But please come see our play - I'll say hi to you after.  I'm easy to find.  I'm the quiet guy in the back.

A kind-of music video.

We made a thing!  We actually made a couple of things.  My writing partner, Will Van Dyke, and I wrote a song.  And then we made a music video of it.  You can find it on YouTube or on my videos page on here.  We had a lot of help from some of our very talented friends - musicians and sound engineers and video editors who are all remarkable and added their own unique talents and magic to the thing.  And we are pretty proud of it.  It's called . . .

Off-Broadway. This winter. For real.

It's official and making its way out in the world now, so here's the skinny:  my play THE GRAVEDIGGER'S LULLABY will receive its world premiere this winter off-Broadway in NYC.  It is being produced by TACT at Theatre Row on 42nd Street (I'm a proud member of the company) and will be directed by the utterly fantastic Jenn Thompson.  It runs February 28th, 2017 - April 1, 2017.  That's the whole news item as of now...  Cast, designers, other stuff will arrive this fall, and I'll post more then, but at least it's out now.  I couldn't be happier.  But I'm sure once we get there, I'll find a way to be.

June. When some things happen apparently.

Full details now on THREE RULES FOR THE DRAGON.  It happens June 17-19 at Premiere Stages in New Jersey.  It's totally free, and don't let NJ Transit scare you - it's actually shockingly easy and fast to get to.  And beside the always-awesome Wes Grantom directing it has a kick-ass group of actors doing it - Dashiell Eaves, Christa Scott-Reed, Julian Cihi and Tyrah Skye Odoms.  They are killers, each and every one.  Join us if you can.

Then, the following week, my play HOW TO BUILD A CITY will have the exact same type of treatment at TACT in NYC as part of their annual newTACTics New Works Festival - a workshop/reading, culminating in two free performances Wednesday and Thursday evenings.  Again, a fantastic cast is on-board to make me look good - Will Rogers, Anthony Newfield, Chad Goodridge, Richard Theiriot and Amelia McClain - and evidently Wes Grantom is not completely sick of me, because he's doing these two things back-to-back.  So, lucky me.  It will be a crazy whiplash experience if you see both, because two more different plays there never has been.

There's actually more news coming - but until it's actual news, you'll just have to wait.  Because I just have to wait.  Because waiting, evidently, is what being a person is all about.

Some news about a dragon.

I was a tease.  I completely admit it.  But I was waiting for all the news to be clear.  My play THREE RULES FOR THE DRAGON, which had a reading at Premiere Stages in New Jersey in March, has been selected for a workshop in June.  We will have the luxury of some rehearsal to work on the play, and then there are three FREE public readings of the play.  It's pretty easy to get to - NJ Transit goes basically right to the door.  And it's free.  I'm excited about it; I am proud of the play, and excited to work on it.  Wes Grantom is directing, and we will know more about who's doing it soon.

The play was also a finalist for this year's O'Neill Playwrights Conference, and while it's a bit of a bummer it didn't make the final cut (I have been in the close-but-no-cigar club there before), it's an honor to get close again in that prestigious festival, and a sign of encouragement for the play and its future.  It's a tough play that I am very hopeful about.

And, still a tease:  more news soon.  On a different topic.  I know!  What a jerk.

Watch this space... (news and a tease...)

I am terrible at self-promotion.  It's a fact.  So the whole have-a-website-with-a-news-section thing is hilarious to me.  But it's been a busy couple of months, and there's some news to report (and some news to come), so I'll do some gentle filling in here.

As for the news to come, you'll just have to wait.  But as for the news to report - well:

In January, a new theatre company called Crowded Outlet launched a developmental reading series with my play ELLIOT.  It was directed by Artistic Director (and my friend and partner in crime) Wes Grantom, and featured a truly stellar kick-ass cast (Stephen Kunken, Frankie Alvarez, Jennifer Ikeda, Christopher Gerson, Christa Scott-Reed and Dillon Heape).  It was a super fun evening with that messed-up play, and we had a blast.

In February, Will Van Dyke and I spent a week at Goodspeed in Connecticut as guests of their Johnny Mercer Writers Colony.  We had the best time writing, and getting to know some other amazing writers working on some pretty awe-inspiring musicals.  And, best of all, we finished a draft of our new musical WINTERSONG while we were there.  We're very excited about this show, and can't wait to share more soon.

Also in February, I spent a couple of days in Chicago.  Route 66 Theatre did a public reading of my play HOW TO BUILD A CITY, and it was a fun, terrific night.  It was directed by Henry Godinez, and had five rock star actors bringing it to life (Steven Strafford, Justin Brill, Jennifer Coombs, Craig Spidle and Eric Lynch).  And then I had a day-long workshop at the spectacular Chicago Shakespeare Theater working on a new play.  It was a truly exciting day, and I pinched myself several times while it was going on.

And then, in March, a couple of fun things:

1)  Kate Baldwin did an evening of Will's music (that featured a fair amount of our work) at an amazing new venue - the Sheen Center.  With special guests Matt Doyle and Jessica Vosk, it was a stellar evening, and we had the best time.  If you don't know about the Sheen Center, you definitely, 100% should.  And

2) My play THREE RULES FOR THE DRAGON was a finalist/participant in New Jersey's Premiere Stages Spring Reading Series of New Plays.  That play is a crazy, tense ride, and it was a thrilling day - again directed by Wes Grantom with a fearless cast (Nathan Darrow, Julian Cihi, Melissa Miller and Brooklyn Shuck) putting the pedal to the medal and really killing it.  It was awesome.

That's all.  Yes, there's some news coming, but you'll just have to check back.  I told you right at the top I'm a tease.  Basically, you'll just have to deal with it.  I may not be great at self-promotion, but I'm a sadist when it comes to information evidently.

Two exciting days in September - an EP and a concert!

September 15th and September 21st.  A Tuesday and a Monday.  And something fun is happening on both days!  Let's start with the 15th.

For the past six months, my writing partner, Will Van Dyke, and I have been hard at work on a collection of standalone songs - first writing, then gathering a stellar collection of singers and musicians and going into the studio to record an EP of our songs.  And on September 15th, the EP will be released.  It's called A View of the River and it features Billy Porter, Kate Baldwin, Jonathan Groff, Matt Doyle, Abby Mueller, Preston Sadleir and Tamika Sonja Lawrence, who are all simply outstanding singing these songs.  I'm immensely proud of how it turned out, and can't wait for people to hear it.  It will be available on iTunes, Amazon and wherever digital music can be found.  And then . . .

And then . . .

On September 21st, we will celebrate the release of the EP with a star-studded concert at 54 Below.  Some of the singers from the EP will be on hand, as well as a list of truly great people to sing not only the songs from the EP, but some songs from our musical Imagine Harry.  Kate Baldwin, Annaleigh Ashford, Julia Murney, Matt Doyle, Preston Sadleir, Tamika Sonja Lawrence, Taylor Trensch, Jake Odmark, Jessica Vosk, Marcus Neville and Josh Lamon will join Will and  a kick-ass band to tear the place up.  Join us if you can - it is going to be a fun night!  If you go to 54 Below's website, they'll be happy to help you get tickets.

For a more in-depth look at both the EP and the concert, check out this terrific story on bykennethjones.com.

IMAGINE HARRY to appear at NAMT Festival, October 2015.

For the past couple years, I've been writing a musical called Imagine Harry with the amazing Will Van Dyke.  I am immensely proud of what we've written, and we are really excited that the musical was chosen to be a part of this year's National Alliance of Musical Theatre's Festival of New Musicals.  From a field of over 220, our show was one of 8 chosen to present a 45-minute cutting of the show to an industry crowd.  You can learn more about the  festival by visiting NAMT's website.

We describe the show like this:  When Tucker was 8, Harry was his imaginary friend.  Now Tucker's grown up, and Harry has left the biz -- two lost guys trying to figure out the little things.  Like Life.  Can they help each other before it's too late?  Imagine Harry is a musical for grown-ups about the very tricky business of growing up.

For a full story on not only our show, but all 8 shows in the festival, this great piece from bykennethjones.com gives more complete information.

There's more info on my site about the show - you can hear a couple of the songs HERE . . .

The festival is October 15-16 in NYC.  We're just starting the process of adding a director and actors - so more to come, I'm sure.  Stay tuned!