Jeffrey Stanley
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Stanley is a playwright born in Roanoke, Virginia
. He began writing in elementary school, and graduated from New York University
Tisch School of the Arts
Undergraduate Film Program and Graduate Dramatic Writing Program. He was also a guest at Yaddo
and a Copeland Fellow at Amherst College
.
His first success came with the play Tesla's Letters
(1999), a semi-autobiographical wartime drama set in the Balkans just before the Kosovo crisis, produced Off Broadway at the Ensemble Studio Theatre
. The cast included Victor Slezak
and Judith Roberts
. The play went on to many other productions and public readings around the world.
That was followed by Medicine, Man (2003), a dark comedy inspired by his grandmother's death in an Appalachian hospital. The play was commissioned by and premiered at the Mill Mountain Theatre
in Stanley's hometown and featured Janelle Schremmer (Chalk
), Bev Appleton (The Answer Man) and George C. Hosmer (The Hebrew Hammer).
In New York City Stanley also wrote and performed in his autobiographical comic monologue The Golden Horseshoe: A Lecture on Tragedy (2003–2005), and he has written and directed a number of short plays, one of which he adapted into the award-winning short film Lady in a Box, a satire loosely inspired by the Terri Schiavo case
, starring Sarita Choudhury
and John Lordan (The Company). He is a past president of the board of directors of the New York Neo-Futurists
experimental theatre troupe.
His autobiographical comic monologue Beautiful Zion: A Book of the Dead premiered at the 2011 Philly Fringe Festival. He is a playwright-in-residence at Philadelphia's Plays and Players Theatre
.
Stanley has written articles for Time Out New York, The New York Times
, the New York Press
, The Brooklyn Rail
and Hemispheres
. He was also a senior advisor to the editors of the nonfiction book on apocalypse movements The End That Does.
He teaches at New York University
and Drexel University
.
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
. He began writing in elementary school, and graduated from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
Undergraduate Film Program and Graduate Dramatic Writing Program. He was also a guest at Yaddo
Yaddo
Yaddo is an artists' community located on a 400 acre estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment."...
and a Copeland Fellow at Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
.
His first success came with the play Tesla's Letters
Tesla's Letters
Tesla's Letters is a play by Jeffrey Stanley.It opened at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York City in April 1999, directed by Curt Dempster. The cast included Victor Slezak and Judith Roberts. It later opened at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2000 produced by the USC School of...
(1999), a semi-autobiographical wartime drama set in the Balkans just before the Kosovo crisis, produced Off Broadway at the Ensemble Studio Theatre
Ensemble Studio Theatre
The Ensemble Studio Theatre is a membership-based, developmental theatre located in New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays.-Overview:...
. The cast included Victor Slezak
Victor Slezak
Victor Slezak is an American stage, television and screen actor who has appeared in numerous films, including The Bridges of Madison County , Beyond Rangoon , The Devil's Own , The Siege ,The Cat's Meow , Timequest as John F...
and Judith Roberts
Judith Roberts
Judith Anna Roberts, whose birthname is Judith Lebreque, is an American stage, film and television actress best known for her role as the Beautiful Girl Across the Hall in the 1977 film Eraserhead...
. The play went on to many other productions and public readings around the world.
That was followed by Medicine, Man (2003), a dark comedy inspired by his grandmother's death in an Appalachian hospital. The play was commissioned by and premiered at the Mill Mountain Theatre
Mill Mountain Theatre
Mill Mountain Theatre has served for more than 40 years as a nationally recognized professional, regional performing arts theatre committed to producing the highest quality theatre in Southwest Virginia, actively promoting and developing new theatre works, strengthening the artistic influence in...
in Stanley's hometown and featured Janelle Schremmer (Chalk
Chalk (film)
Chalk is a 2006 comedy mockumentary about teaching focusing on the lives of three teachers and one assistant principal. It stars Chris Mass as Mr. Stroope and Troy Schremmer as Mr. Lowrey. It is directed by Mike Akel. The movie is based on both Akel's and Mass' real life experiences in the...
), Bev Appleton (The Answer Man) and George C. Hosmer (The Hebrew Hammer).
In New York City Stanley also wrote and performed in his autobiographical comic monologue The Golden Horseshoe: A Lecture on Tragedy (2003–2005), and he has written and directed a number of short plays, one of which he adapted into the award-winning short film Lady in a Box, a satire loosely inspired by the Terri Schiavo case
Terri Schiavo case
The Terri Schiavo case was a legal battle in the United States between the legal guardians and the parents of Teresa Marie "Terri" Schiavo that lasted from 1998 to 2005...
, starring Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Catherine Louise Choudhury is an English actress.-Biography:Choudhury was born in Blackheath, London, England, of half Bengali-Indian and half English descent. Her parents, Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist, and Julia Patricia Spring, married in 1964 in Lucea, Jamaica...
and John Lordan (The Company). He is a past president of the board of directors of the New York Neo-Futurists
Neo-Futurists
The Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988. Neo-Futurism, inspired by the Italian Futurist movement from the early 20th century, is based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity.-Aesthetic:...
experimental theatre troupe.
His autobiographical comic monologue Beautiful Zion: A Book of the Dead premiered at the 2011 Philly Fringe Festival. He is a playwright-in-residence at Philadelphia's Plays and Players Theatre
Plays and Players Theatre
Plays and Players Theater, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the oldest nonprofessional theater companies in the United States, founded in 1911. The theater building was designed and constructed in 1912 by Philadelphia architect Amos W. Barnes as a dramatic school, but soon was used as a...
.
Stanley has written articles for Time Out New York, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the New York Press
New York Press
New York Press was a free alternative weekly in New York City, that was published from 1988 to 2011. During its lifetime, it was the main competitor to the Village Voice...
, The Brooklyn Rail
The Brooklyn Rail
The Brooklyn Rail is a political, artistic and literary magazine based in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Coverage includes political andliterary essays, art criticism, interviews, original fiction and poetry, and reviews....
and Hemispheres
Hemispheres (magazine)
Hemispheres, the onboard magazine for United Airlines and Continental Airlines. With a readership of approximately 7 million per month, Hemispheres ranks as the most-honored inflight magazine in the U.S., having won more prestigious awards than any other....
. He was also a senior advisor to the editors of the nonfiction book on apocalypse movements The End That Does.
He teaches at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and Drexel University
Drexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
.
External links
- New York Times review of Tesla's Letters; Leaping to the Stage From Tragic Headlines
- http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_product=RO&p_theme=ro&s_dispstring=%28mill%20mountain%27s%20medicine%20man%29&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date:B,E&p_text_date-0=2003&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=%28%22mill%20mountain%27s%20medicine%20man%22%29&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=noRoanoke Times review of Medicine, Man]
- Beautiful Zion: A Book of the Dead
- Tesla's Letters script
- Medicine, Man script
- Lady in a Box DVD
- Jeffrey Stanley's New York Times City section cover story Talk Radio
- Jeffrey Stanley's Time Out New York article Paul Robeson, The Last Emperor
- Jeffrey Stanley's New York Press cover story To Kebab and Conquer
- Jeffrey Stanley's New York Press cover story Confessions of a White, Middle-Aged Paan Eater
- Jeffrey Stanley's Hemispheres article Full House
- The End That Does book