44d7e6bb-0bcc-46a3-a602-7d3687188cbc POST-MODERN LIVING (2010)/LOST IN STATEN ISLAND (2013) INDEPENDENT THEATRE GALLERY

Smart, clever, funny theatre ... Jacobs ... is magically able to differentiate between ... actual life and the world of [the mind]." ~ NYTheatre.com New York-based theatre director and educator Jason Jacobs creates imaginative, thought-provoking, and moving productions acclaimed for their powerful impact on audiences. He has been identified as a 2007 Person of the Year by NYTheatre.com for his outstanding contributions to the cultural landscape. His productions have received two GLAAD Media Award nominations and critical praise from The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, and TheatreMania.com FULL BIO ... the breathless pace ... splendidly realized by director Jason Jacobs, is relentless and compelling." ~ NYTheatre.com Jacobs conducts the talented ensemble with taut precision.” ~ Seven Days New York-based theatre director Jason Jacobs creates imaginative, thought-provoking, and moving productions acclaimed for their powerful impact on audiences. He has been identified as a 2007 Person of the Year by NYTheatre.com for his outstanding contributions to the cultural landscape. His productions have received two GLAAD Media Award nominations and critical praise from The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, and TheatreMania.com. Jason's work probes a broad range of interests with a focus on adaptations of classic texts and historic material. His original play Another Horatio Alger Story explores Alger's 19th-century rags-to-riches stories from a contemporary perspective. He co-created Bald Diva!, a queer twist on Eugene Ionesco's The Bald Soprano, blending the Theatre of the Absurd style with contemporary gay theatre to create a potent theatrical cocktail. In Burlington Vermont, he initiated an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya to address the specific concerns of the rural Vermont community. He also directs bold interpretations of classic texts, such as Oliver Twist, The Tempest, As You Like It, and The Cherry Orchard. Jason is also passionate about working on new plays. He has created dynamic solo productions with Kathryn Blume, founder of the Lysistrata Project, and Jeremy Lawrence (Lavender Songs -- winner of a 2008 Backstage Bistro Award). He has also directed plays by Richard Sheinmel (Post Modern Living), Jason Schafer (I Google Myself) and David Koteles (The Trick and Bald Diva!). He loves opera and directed the Center for Contemporary Opera's premiere production of Mario and the Magician. With a strong commitment to teaching and working with young people, Jason is a teaching artist for Roundabout Theatre Company. He has taught at Williamstown Theatre Festival and worked as a guest artist at Long Island University/CW Post Campus, NYU Department of Dramatic Writing, Bay Shore High School, and Beacon High School in New York City. He co-founded The Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience, which empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth in the NYC area to develop their unique theatrical voices, and directed TAYPE's first two initial productions. Born and raised in Culver City, California, Jason received his undergraduate degree from Yale and his MFA from Columbia, under the tutelage of Anne Bogart, Robert Woodruff, Brian Kulick, and Tina Landau. Additionally, he has been spotted on stage over the years in a range of roles the Grasshopper in James and the Giant Peach, his own solo piece Poor Sport, and the enigmatic metrosexual "Tom the Assistant" in Polly Frost's episodic series Sex Scenes. ❃

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN GALLERY UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE

LAVENDER SONGS GALLERY LAVENDER SONGS Video Images Watch

THEATRE ASKEW In 2004, I co-founded Theatre Askew to explore how to create "queer theatre" in New York in the 21st century. The company called for a radical new approach to the representation of "queerness" defining queerness as a metaphor for ALL those who stand outside of mainstream, consumerist models. Theatre Askew would make ever-evolving programming choices and create a diverse body of work of social impact and spiritual consequence that reflects the complexity of our experience. Askew's early productions emphasized adaptation and the ways in which a queer perspective can illuminate classic texts. I co-created Bald Diva! an original absurdist farce inspired by Ionesco's The Bald Soprano. Directing The Tempest, I explored the Radical Faerie movement and interpreted Shakespeare's play as an expression of the healing capacity of the "gay spirit." Our episodic satire I, Claudius Live was a parody of the BBC series, irreverently adapted to address politics of the Bush II presidency, and told from the point of view of a disabled heterosexual character who could never be a "real" man by the standards of Roman culture. Our 2007 production of i google myself explored the social and emotional impact of the internet, and our first fully original play. Fundamental to Askew's mission is the inclusion of LGBTQA youth as significant members and the future leaders of the community. In 2005, I co-founded the Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE) to provide a creative forum to develop and empower the voices of this population. TAYPE is an arts skills program that encourages youth to build community, acquire responsibility, and experience leadership, teamwork, and the personal rewards of achievement – within the process of creating, producing, and performing theatre. In addition to theatrical skills, the program introduces youth to the New York theatre world, including working theatre artists who can inspire, guide, and serve as role models, and point them towards internships and opportunities beyond our projects. Theatre Askew has garnered positive notices from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York as well as other media outlets; we have been nominated twice for the GLAAD media award, listed on Theatermania's best-of-the year lists, and in 2007 was named on NYTheatre.com's People of the Year list. In 2011, I left Theatre Askew in order to concentrate on my freelance work as a director, writer, and teaching artist. BY JASON JACOBS Fresh Fruit Festival ANOTHER HORATIO ALGER STORY In an inner-city classroom, a teacher tries to save an at-risk student by introducing him to American novelist, Horatio Alger, Jr. As the play moves across two worlds—urban America today and 19th-century New York—the conflict between fact and fiction leads to hard lessons about the American dream and the myth that we can all pull ourselves self up by our bootstraps. Learn more at New Play Exchange G A L L E R Y C L O S E LGBTQ youngsters who participated in this year's Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE) created this play out of a series of workshops, writing assignments, visual art and more. The work explores gender identity, stereotypes and, of course, love." —TIME OUT CO-FOUNDER JASON JACOBS THEATRE ASKEW YOUTH PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE TAYPE Jason is co-founder of The Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE), which empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth and their allies to develop their unique theatrical voices. He's worked with the youth community at the Hetrick-Martin Institute and the Ali Forney Center, and directed two original productions for TAYPE: Home/Away and The F On My Chest. G A L L E R Y C L O S E In the new play “I Google Myself ,” this ordinary act fuels a bizarre encounter which takes on ever creepier proportions in a show both hilarious and gothic." -Ellen Wernecke, New Theatre Corps The play had an impact. On the way out, one audience member said to another, 'I’m going to go home and turn off my computer.'" -Jason Zinoman, NY Times BY JASON SCHAFER I GOOGLE MYSELF Three men. Same name. Who will be the first hit? "I GOOGLE MYSELF is an insightful and entertaining window into our society's preoccupation with fame and recognition, and how Internet innovations like blogs and online chats promote one's quest to be known, even as the same technology can lead to a debilitating isolation that increases the need for connection." -OffOffOnline Queer in the best sense of the word: self-consciously outside of the mainstream, looking in with intelligence and wit." -Village Voice G A L L E R Y C L O S E Theatre Askew's politicized deconstruction of everyone's favorite BBC neoclassic is clearly destined for some legendary status of its own." Village Voice When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in the East Village in a play about Rome, do it with gays, trannies and as little clothing as possible - especially when it’s I, Claudius Live!, a six-part parody of the epic 1976 BBC miniseries from Theatre Askew" I, CLAUDIUS LIVE EMPIRE. RELIGION. FAMILY VALUES. THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROME. It is delicious fun watching evil people do awful things to one another. But I, Claudius Live is funner than fun...It is staged broadly and briskly like a farce, yet has been laced with thought-provoking political parallels to give us food for thought when we aren't laughing our heads off." G A L L E R Y C L O S E Stylishly directed by Jason Jacobs, who co-conceived the project with dramaturg Jamee Freedus, the show is flawlessly paced and brought to vivid life by the talented ensemble cast." TheaterMania DAVID KOTELES BALD DIVA! Queer-Eyed boys get an absurdist makeover a la Eugene Ionesco in this tragic spectacle of la vie Chelsea, featuring sizzling firemen, probing detectives, saucy maids, steamroom escapades, provocative party games, low-rent musical numbers on fabulous cardboard sets, piping-hot celebrity dish, the latest fashion trends and beauty secrets, narrow escapes of reality, death-defying mental acrobatics and more Divas than you can shake your stick at! Director Jason Jacobs... keeps the evening bouncing along and guides the performers well through the play's final, ironic moments." G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU VERMONT THEATRE CO ORIGINAL WORK INDEPENDENT THEATRE HORATIO ALGER BY JASON JACOBS Fresh Fruit Festival In an inner-city classroom, a teacher tries to save an at-risk student by introducing him to American novelist, Horatio Alger, Jr. As the play moves across two worlds—urban America today and 19th-century New York—the conflict between fact and fiction leads to hard lessons about the American dream and the myth that we can all pull ourselves self up by our bootstraps. Learn more at New Play Exchange G A L L E R Y C L O S E TAYPE CO-FOUNDER JASON JACOBS Jason is co-founder of The Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE), which empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth and their allies to develop their unique theatrical voices. He's worked with the youth community at the Hetrick-Martin Institute and the Ali Forney Center, and directed two original productions for TAYPE: Home/Away and The F On My Chest. LGBTQ youngsters who participated in this year's Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE) created this play out of a series of workshops, writing assignments, visual art and more. The work explores gender identity, stereotypes and, of course, love." —TIME OUT G A L L E R Y C L O S E GOOGLE BY JASON SCHAFER Three men. Same name. Who will be the first hit? "I GOOGLE MYSELF is an insightful and entertaining window into our society's preoccupation with fame and recognition, and how Internet innovations like blogs and online chats promote one's quest to be known, even as the same technology can lead to a debilitating isolation that increases the need for connection." -OffOffOnline In the new play “I Google Myself ,” this ordinary act fuels a bizarre encounter which takes on ever creepier proportions in a show both hilarious and gothic." -Ellen Wernecke, New Theatre Corps Queer in the best sense of the word: self-consciously outside of the mainstream, looking in with intelligence and wit." -Village Voice The play had an impact. On the way out, one audience member said to another, 'I’m going to go home and turn off my computer.'" -Jason Zinoman, NY Times G A L L E R Y C L O S E LIVE EMPIRE. RELIGION. FAMILY VALUES. THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROME. Theatre Askew's politicized deconstruction of everyone's favorite BBC neoclassic is clearly destined for some legendary status of its own." Village Voice It is delicious fun watching evil people do awful things to one another. But I, Claudius Live is funner than fun...It is staged broadly and briskly like a farce, yet has been laced with thought-provoking political parallels to give us food for thought when we aren't laughing our heads off." When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in the East Village in a play about Rome, do it with gays, trannies and as little clothing as possible - especially when it’s I, Claudius Live!, a six-part parody of the epic 1976 BBC miniseries from Theatre Askew" G A L L E R Y C L O S E BALD DIVA! DAVID KOTELES Queer-Eyed boys get an absurdist makeover a la Eugene Ionesco in this tragic spectacle of la vie Chelsea, featuring sizzling firemen, probing detectives, saucy maids, steamroom escapades, provocative party games, low-rent musical numbers on fabulous cardboard sets, piping-hot celebrity dish, the latest fashion trends and beauty secrets, narrow escapes of reality, death-defying mental acrobatics and more Divas than you can shake your stick at! Stylishly directed by Jason Jacobs, who co-conceived the project with dramaturg Jamee Freedus, the show is flawlessly paced and brought to vivid life by the talented ensemble cast." TheaterMania Director Jason Jacobs... keeps the evening bouncing along and guides the performers well through the play's final, ironic moments." G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU VERMONT THEATRE CO ORIGINAL WORK INDEPENDENT THEATRE ANOTHER HORATIO ALGER STORY BY JASON JACOBS Fresh Fruit Festival In an inner-city classroom, a teacher tries to save an at-risk student by introducing him to American novelist, Horatio Alger, Jr. As the play moves across two worlds—urban America today and 19th-century New York—the conflict between fact and fiction leads to hard lessons about the American dream and the myth that we can all pull ourselves self up by our bootstraps. Learn more at New Play Exchange G A L L E R Y C L O S E T A Y P E CO-FOUNDER JASON JACOBS LGBTQ youngsters who participated in this year's Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE) created this play out of a series of workshops, writing assignments, visual art and more. The work explores gender identity, stereotypes and, of course, love." —TIME OUT Jason is co-founder of The Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE), which empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth and their allies to develop their unique theatrical voices. He's worked with the youth community at the Hetrick-Martin Institute and the Ali Forney Center, and directed two original productions for TAYPE: Home/Away and The F On My Chest. G A L L E R Y C L O S E I GOOGLE MYSELF BY JASON SCHAFER In the new play “I Google Myself ,” this ordinary act fuels a bizarre encounter which takes on ever creepier proportions in a show both hilarious and gothic." -Ellen Wernecke, New Theatre Corps Queer in the best sense of the word: self-consciously outside of the mainstream, looking in with intelligence and wit." -Village Voice Three men. Same name. Who will be the first hit? "I GOOGLE MYSELF is an insightful and entertaining window into our society's preoccupation with fame and recognition, and how Internet innovations like blogs and online chats promote one's quest to be known, even as the same technology can lead to a debilitating isolation that increases the need for connection." -OffOffOnline The play had an impact. On the way out, one audience member said to another, 'I’m going to go home and turn off my computer.'" -Jason Zinoman, NY Times G A L L E R Y C L O S E I, CLAUDIUS LIVE Theatre Askew's politicized deconstruction of everyone's favorite BBC neoclassic is clearly destined for some legendary status of its own." Village Voice It is delicious fun watching evil people do awful things to one another. But I, Claudius Live is funner than fun...It is staged broadly and briskly like a farce, yet has been laced with thought-provoking political parallels to give us food for thought when we aren't laughing our heads off." EMPIRE. RELIGION. FAMILY VALUES. THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE ROME. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. When in the East Village in a play about Rome, do it with gays, trannies and as little clothing as possible - especially when it’s I, Claudius Live!, a six-part parody of the epic 1976 BBC miniseries from Theatre Askew" G A L L E R Y C L O S E BALD DIVA! DAVID KOTELES Stylishly directed by Jason Jacobs, who co-conceived the project with dramaturg Jamee Freedus, the show is flawlessly paced and brought to vivid life by the talented ensemble cast." TheaterMania Director Jason Jacobs... keeps the evening bouncing along and guides the performers well through the play's final, ironic moments." Queer-Eyed boys get an absurdist makeover a la Eugene Ionesco in this tragic spectacle of la vie Chelsea, featuring sizzling firemen, probing detectives, saucy maids, steamroom escapades, provocative party games, low-rent musical numbers on fabulous cardboard sets, piping-hot celebrity dish, the latest fashion trends and beauty secrets, narrow escapes of reality, death-defying mental acrobatics and more Divas than you can shake your stick at! G A L L E R Y C L O S E OTHER VENUES POST-LIU VERMONT THEATRE CO ORIGINAL WORK INDEPENDENT THEATRE

GALLERY VANYA VERMONT Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE VANYA VERMONT Add a Title Chekhov, Kathryn Blume ...a delightful piece of theater - witty, touching, fun and sad, in that order." Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters." I got a perspective on how Vermont is so different from anywhere else in America. I wanted to work on something that would speak specifically to this community in a really visceral, valid way. A smart, funny, respectful treatment of Uncle Vanya...An impressive achievement." Kathryn Blume Anton Checkov KATHRYN BLUME VANYA VERMONT VANYA VERMONT I got a perspective on how Vermont is so different from anywhere else in America. I wanted to work on something that would speak specifically to this community in a really visceral, valid way. Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters." Connie Meng, North Country Public Radio ...a delightful piece of theater - witty, touching, fun and sad, in that order." Rutland Herald A smart, funny, respectful treatment of Uncle Vanya...An impressive achievement." Burlington Free Press ...a delightful piece of theater - witty, touching, fun and sad, in that order." Rutland Herald Kathryn Blume Anton Checkov KATHRYN BLUME VANYA VERMONT VANYA VERMONT I got a perspective on how Vermont is so different from anywhere else in America. I wanted to work on something that would speak specifically to this community in a really visceral, valid way. Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters." Connie Meng, North Country Public Radio A smart, funny, respectful treatment of Uncle Vanya...An impressive achievement." Burlington Free Press

GALLERY BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL Add a Title Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming, and Laurence O'Keefe Keythe Farley Brian Flemming Laurence O'Keefe BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL Keythe Farley Brian Flemming Laurence O'Keefe BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL

OLIVER TWIST GALLERY OLIVER TWIST Video Images Jason discusses OLIVER TWIST with the Vermont Stage Company's Artistic Director, Mark Nash. Using Charles Dickens' original words, a handful of tunes composed by local musician David Symons, and a chameleon ensemble of actors featuring some of Vermont's finest performers, Neil Bartlett's powerful new version of Oliver Twist brings the dark underbelly of nineteenth-century London back to bold theatrical life. The unforgettable characters - Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sikes, and the Artful Dodger - inhabit a world filled with images of danger and fear, innocence and hope; a world seen through the eyes of an astonished child.

GALLERY HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Video Images Watch HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Add a Title John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask Classics invite interpretation, and this Hedwig is shaped by a new generation of young artists tearing down the walls of traditional gender strictures. Our rehearsals have been an inquiry into how this multifaceted role can be embodied by a diverse ensemble and how this story continues to resonate more than twenty years after its inception. Whatever your journey, I thank you for being here tonight and wish you an exciting theatrical ride! - Jason Jacob, November 2021 Program Note John Cameron Mitchell Stephen Trask HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Classics invite interpretation, and this Hedwig is shaped by a new generation of young artists tearing down the walls of traditional gender strictures. Our rehearsals have been an inquiry into how this multifaceted role can be embodied by a diverse ensemble and how this story continues to resonate more than twenty years after its inception. Whatever your journey, I thank you for being here tonight and wish you an exciting theatrical ride! - Jason Jacob, November 2021 Program Note John Cameron Mitchell Stephen Trask HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Classics invite interpretation, and this Hedwig is shaped by a new generation of young artists tearing down the walls of traditional gender strictures. Our rehearsals have been an inquiry into how this multifaceted role can be embodied by a diverse ensemble and how this story continues to resonate more than twenty years after its inception. Whatever your journey, I thank you for being here tonight and wish you an exciting theatrical ride! - Jason Jacob, November 2021 Program Note

GALLERY UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Add a Title Jason Jacobs, Tome' Cousin, and Douglas Levine. Cousin and Jacobs’s aim is to rescue the work from all its accumulated baggage ...and to present Stowe’s — and Aiken’s — story center-stage. This they do, thanks to a knock-out student cast, without the slightest hint of irony or contemporary shading" Tome and I began working on our adaptation of George Aiken's play -- itself adapted from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel -- as part of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. We felt the play's history had become misunderstood, and the term "Uncle Tom" had become an epithet that reduced the original character to a stereotype of acquiescence and a betrayer of his people. Our adaptation aims to restore Uncle Tom's name and to re-envsion his story as one of self-assertion, faith, and human dignity. Tomé Cousin Jason Jacobs Douglas Levine UNCLE TOM'S CABIN UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Tome and I began working on our adaptation of George Aiken's play -- itself adapted from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel -- as part of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. We felt the play's history had become misunderstood, and the term "Uncle Tom" had become an epithet that reduced the original character to a stereotype of acquiescence and a betrayer of his people. Our adaptation aims to restore Uncle Tom's name and to re-envsion his story as one of self-assertion, faith, and human dignity. Cousin and Jacobs’s aim is to rescue the work from all its accumulated baggage ...and to present Stowe’s — and Aiken’s — story center-stage. This they do, thanks to a knock-out student cast, without the slightest hint of irony or contemporary shading" Pittsburgh City Paper Tomé Cousin Jason Jacobs Douglas Levine UNCLE TOM'S CABIN UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Tome and I began working on our adaptation of George Aiken's play -- itself adapted from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel -- as part of the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. We felt the play's history had become misunderstood, and the term "Uncle Tom" had become an epithet that reduced the original character to a stereotype of acquiescence and a betrayer of his people. Our adaptation aims to restore Uncle Tom's name and to re-envsion his story as one of self-assertion, faith, and human dignity. Cousin and Jacobs’s aim is to rescue the work from all its accumulated baggage ...and to present Stowe’s — and Aiken’s — story center-stage. This they do, thanks to a knock-out student cast, without the slightest hint of irony or contemporary shading" Pittsburgh City Paper

I, CLAUDIUS LIVE GALLERY I, CLAUDIUS LIVE Video Images NO VIDEO AVAILABLE

Heading 4 THEATRE ASKEW In 2004, I co-founded Theatre Askew to explore how to create "queer theatre" in New York in the 21st century. The company called for a radical new approach to the representation of "queerness" defining queerness as a metaphor for ALL those who stand outside of mainstream, consumerist models. Theatre Askew would make ever-evolving programming choices and create a diverse body of work of social impact and spiritual consequence that reflects the complexity of our experience. Askew's early productions emphasized adaptation and the ways in which a queer perspective can illuminate classic texts. I co-created Bald Diva! an original absurdist farce inspired by Ionesco's The Bald Soprano. Directing The Tempest, I explored the Radical Faerie movement and interpreted Shakespeare's play as an expression of the healing capacity of the "gay spirit." Our episodic satire I, Claudius Live was a parody of the BBC series, irreverently adapted to address politics of the Bush II presidency, and told from the point of view of a disabled heterosexual character who could never be a "real" man by the standards of Roman culture. Our 2007 production of i google myself explored the social and emotional impact of the internet, and our first fully original play. Fundamental to Askew's mission is the inclusion of LGBTQA youth as significant members and the future leaders of the community. In 2005, I co-founded the Theatre Askew Youth Performance Experience (TAYPE) to provide a creative forum to develop and empower the voices of this population. TAYPE is an arts skills program that encourages youth to build community, acquire responsibility, and experience leadership, teamwork, and the personal rewards of achievement – within the process of creating, producing, and performing theatre. In addition to theatrical skills, the program introduces youth to the New York theatre world, including working theatre artists who can inspire, guide, and serve as role models, and point them towards internships and opportunities beyond our projects. Theatre Askew has garnered positive notices from The New York Times, The Village Voice, Time Out New York as well as other media outlets; we have been nominated twice for the GLAAD media award, listed on Theatermania's best-of-the year lists, and in 2007 was named on NYTheatre.com's People of the Year list. In 2011, I left Theatre Askew in order to concentrate on my freelance work as a director, writer, and teaching artist. Previous Item Next Item