Sarah Jones
Encyclopedia
Sarah Jones is a Tony
- and Obie Award
-winning American playwright, actress, and poet.
Called "a master of the genre" by The New York Times
, Jones has written and performed four multi-character solo shows, including Bridge & Tunnel, which was produced Off-Broadway
in 2004 by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep
, and then on to Broadway in 2006 where it received a Special Tony Award
.
, Washington DC, and Queens, New York, influenced her development into what The New Yorker
termed a "multicultural mynah bird [who] lays our mongrel nation before us with gorgeous, pitch-perfect impersonations of the rarely heard or dramatized."
Jones attended The United Nations International School
and Bryn Mawr College
where she was the recipient of the Mellon Minority Fellowship. She originally planned a career as a lawyer, but left college early and eventually found her way to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
, NYC, where she began competing in poetry slams.
Her first solo show, Surface Transit, debuted at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in 1998. It featured monologues based on her poetry which she performed in character. After gaining the attention of feminist icon Gloria Steinem
and human rights organization Equality Now
, Jones was commissioned by the organization to write and perform her next project, Women Can't Wait!, to address discriminatory laws against women.
A second commission for the National Immigration Forum
, advocated to raise awareness about immigrant rights issues, yielded Waking the American Dream, the solo show that became the basis for Bridge & Tunnel, which set an Off-Broadway box office record during its six-month, sold-out run in New York in 2004.
In 2005, a commission from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to raise awareness of ethnic and racial health disparities in the U.S. resulted in A Right to Care, Jones' fourth solo piece, which premiered in 2005 at the Kellogg Foundation's 75th Anniversary conference alongside keynote speaker President Jimmy Carter
.
Jones recently returned to her UN School roots by becoming an Ambassador for UNICEF as its first ever Official Spokesperson on Violence Against Children, traveling and performing for audiences from Indonesia to Ethiopia, the Middle East and Japan.
A recipient of the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize, Jones has also received grants and commissions from The Ford Foundation, NYSCA, and others. She has also obtained a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival's Best One Person Show Award, as well as an NYCLU Calloway Award in recognition of Jones as the first artist in history to sue the Federal Communications Commission for censorship. The lawsuit resulted in reversal of a censorship ruling, which had targeted her hip-hop poem recording “Your Revolution" in which she makes a powerful statement against sexual exploitation of women in hip hop
music.
A regular guest on public radio, Jones has also made numerous TV appearances on programs including Charlie Rose
, The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, Live with Regis and Kelly
, and Sesame Street
as ‘Mr. Noodle's Other Sister, Ms. Noodle’ on Elmo’s World. Jones is currently at work on a commission for Lincoln Center Theater and is developing a feature based on her characters for HBO Films.
Jones lived with writer/director Steve Colman
for ten years. They collaborated on several of Jones's projects including Bridge and Tunnel, A Right To Care, and several television and film projects. They were married in 2005. Jones filed for divorce in 2010.
Punk rock
band, Ten Foot Pole
wrote a song about Sarah Jones on their fifth album, Bad Mother Trucker
.
Most recently, Jones was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to perform at The White House in celebration of Women’s History Month.
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
- and Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
-winning American playwright, actress, and poet.
Called "a master of the genre" by 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...
, Jones has written and performed four multi-character solo shows, including Bridge & Tunnel, which was produced Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 2004 by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, and then on to Broadway in 2006 where it received a Special Tony Award
Special Tony Award
The Special Tony Award category includes the Lifetime Achievement Award and Special Tony Award. These are non-competitive awards, and the titles have changed over the years...
.
Life and career
Jones was born in Baltimore, Maryland to an African American father and mother of mixed Euro-American and Caribbean descent. Her multicultural background and upbringing in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Washington DC, and Queens, New York, influenced her development into what The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
termed a "multicultural mynah bird [who] lays our mongrel nation before us with gorgeous, pitch-perfect impersonations of the rarely heard or dramatized."
Jones attended The United Nations International School
United Nations International School
The United Nations International School is a private international school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 by families who worked for or were associated with the United Nations. The school was founded to provide an international education, while preserving its students' diverse cultural...
and Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
where she was the recipient of the Mellon Minority Fellowship. She originally planned a career as a lawyer, but left college early and eventually found her way to the Nuyorican Poets Cafe
Nuyorican Poets Café
The Nuyorican Poets Café is a non-profit organization in Alphabet City, Manhattan. It is a bastion of the Nuyorican art movement in New York City, USA, and has become a forum for poetry, music, hip hop, video, visual arts, comedy and theatre.-History:...
, NYC, where she began competing in poetry slams.
Her first solo show, Surface Transit, debuted at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe in 1998. It featured monologues based on her poetry which she performed in character. After gaining the attention of feminist icon Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
and human rights organization Equality Now
Equality Now
Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 whose stated purpose is to protect the human rights of women around the world. The group provides an international framework for spreading awareness of issues and providing support to local grassroots groups working to address issues...
, Jones was commissioned by the organization to write and perform her next project, Women Can't Wait!, to address discriminatory laws against women.
A second commission for the National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Forum
The National Immigration Forum is an immigrant rights organization based in Washington, DC that publishes studies, lobbies congress members, and networks local organizations with the goal of increasing public support for immigration to the United States...
, advocated to raise awareness about immigrant rights issues, yielded Waking the American Dream, the solo show that became the basis for Bridge & Tunnel, which set an Off-Broadway box office record during its six-month, sold-out run in New York in 2004.
In 2005, a commission from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to raise awareness of ethnic and racial health disparities in the U.S. resulted in A Right to Care, Jones' fourth solo piece, which premiered in 2005 at the Kellogg Foundation's 75th Anniversary conference alongside keynote speaker President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
.
Jones recently returned to her UN School roots by becoming an Ambassador for UNICEF as its first ever Official Spokesperson on Violence Against Children, traveling and performing for audiences from Indonesia to Ethiopia, the Middle East and Japan.
A recipient of the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize, Jones has also received grants and commissions from The Ford Foundation, NYSCA, and others. She has also obtained a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival's Best One Person Show Award, as well as an NYCLU Calloway Award in recognition of Jones as the first artist in history to sue the Federal Communications Commission for censorship. The lawsuit resulted in reversal of a censorship ruling, which had targeted her hip-hop poem recording “Your Revolution" in which she makes a powerful statement against sexual exploitation of women in hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
music.
A regular guest on public radio, Jones has also made numerous TV appearances on programs including Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...
, The Today Show, CBS Sunday Morning, Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, and Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
as ‘Mr. Noodle's Other Sister, Ms. Noodle’ on Elmo’s World. Jones is currently at work on a commission for Lincoln Center Theater and is developing a feature based on her characters for HBO Films.
Jones lived with writer/director Steve Colman
Steve Colman
Steve Colman is an award-winning poet, playwright, producer, and director.-Biography:Colman was the inaugural poet on the Peabody Award-winning television series Russell Simmons presents Def Poetry Jam on HBO...
for ten years. They collaborated on several of Jones's projects including Bridge and Tunnel, A Right To Care, and several television and film projects. They were married in 2005. Jones filed for divorce in 2010.
Punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, Ten Foot Pole
Ten Foot Pole
Ten Foot Pole is an American punk rock band, formerly on Epitaph Records.-History:Ten Foot Pole was founded in 1983 as Scared Straight.Scared Straight was a Nardcore Punk band from Simi Valley, California...
wrote a song about Sarah Jones on their fifth album, Bad Mother Trucker
Bad Mother Trucker
-Track listing:All songs written by Dennis Jagard, except "Happy Daze" and "Shelter" by Kevin Ruggeri#"Plastic" - 2:20#"Giving Gravity A Hand" - 2:33#"Do It Again" - 2:25#"Happy Daze" - 2:48#"Armchair Quarterback" - 2:16#"Nova Scotia" - 2:34...
.
Most recently, Jones was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to perform at The White House in celebration of Women’s History Month.
External links
- Voices on Antisemitism Interview with Sarah Jones from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial MuseumUnited States Holocaust Memorial MuseumThe United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust history...
- Official site
- Sarah Jones - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.orgAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
- Ted Talk, Sarah Jones: One woman, eight hilarious characters