JESSICA OWENS
Dramaturg / Playwright / Producer / Theatre Administrator
Photo: Shedding Load @ 59E 59 Theatres
Marlina Devery, Portland Thomas
Photo Credit: Russ Rowland
Jessica Owens is a New York based Playwright, Dramaturg, Producer and Theatre Administrator. Writing includes Shedding Load (O'Neill 2021 Semifinalist)(59E59 Theatres), The Valkyries (O'Neill 2020 Semifinalist) (The Tank, Dixon Place) I LOVE NEW YORK: a found text american dream/nightmare (Dixon Place, The Tank) Dramaturgy includes: Farragut North (5th Floor Theatre Company), The Glass Menagerie (Pigeonholed Theatre), The Pitchforks (The Loading Dock, The Drama League), Macbeth (Columbia Stages), Northern Lights (ATHE Development Workshop). She is a receipient of The Vanderbilt University Sesquicentennial Grant, which will culminate in a production in Vanderbilt University Theatre's 2023-2024 Season (titled Dores to The Past).
As the Producing Director of The Varsity Theatre Company, she has produced multiple productions and developmental readings.
Jessica most recently worked as the Manager of Labor Relations at ABC Inc.. She has previously worked at institutions such as Roundabout Theatre Company, The Broadway League, The Public Theater, and Creative Artists Agency. She is a Script Reader for Roundabout, The Public, The Dramatists Guild Fellowship, The Playwrights Realm, Jewish Plays Project, and various other playwrighting competitions. Co-Founder of The Varsity Theatre Company and Initiative for Millennial Theatre Artists. She holds a BA from Vanderbilt University and an MA from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts & Birkbeck College.
NEWS / UPCOMING / RECENT
Photo:The Valkyries @ The Tank - Amy Berryman, Ashley Marie Ortiz, Allison Haglund, Alex Beechko
Photo Credit: Russ Rowland
NEWS
Shedding Load is a 2021 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semifinalist.
The Valkyries 2021 production at 59E59 Street Theaters has been postponed. Visit soon for updates on rescheduling.
The Valkyries is a 2020 Eugene O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Semi-Finalist
RECENT PRODUCTIONS
Shedding Load at 59E59 Theatres
Directed by Mia Walker
The Valkyries by Jessica Owens at LadyFest at The Tank
Directed by Blayze Teicher
THE VARSITY THEATRE COMPANY
The Varsity Theatre Company is a New York based collaboration formed with the intent of creating work that stimulates the modern audience through detailed exploration of characters and their humanity. Believing that the political is personal and that philosophies are often defined by social interactions, The Varsity seeks to engage with the large, sweeping questions of our society from the ground up through developing new work and generating new interpretations of existing texts. Central to The Varsity’s mission is its focus on experimenting with and pushing the boundaries of how theatre uses visceral elements - sound, movement, duration, etc. - to replicate human emotion and the human experience.
GET IN TOUCH
Feel free to contact me with freelance dramaturgy and/or producing opportunities.
Find more writing at New Play Exchange.