Jason Jacobs
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Bio
Jason Jacobs is a New York-based theatre director who creates imaginative, thought-provoking, and moving productions recognized 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.
Jason’s work probes a broad field of interests with a strong emphasis on adaptations of classics and historic material. 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. With his colleagues at Askew he is currently devising That’s Not It, a multi-layered piece based on The Seagull. He also directs bold interpretations of classic texts, such The Tempest, As You Like It, and The Cherry Orchard. Jason creates new work with dynamic solo performers and exciting new playwrights, such as Kathryn Blume (The Boycott), Jason Schafer (i google myself) Jeremy Lawrence (Lavender Songs), David Koteles (Bald Diva!), and Joanna Parson (work-in-progress). He loves opera and directed Center for Contemporary Opera’s premiere production of Mario and the Magician.
A strong commitment to teaching has taken Jason to Williamstown Theatre Festival, Long Island University/CW Post Campus, Gettysburg College, Bay Shore High School, and Beacon High School in New York City. He is currently on the directing team at NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing and a Teaching Artist for Roundabout Theatre Company. Jason is a co-founder of 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.
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, Tina Landau, and Andre Serban. 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 meterosexual “Tom the Assistant” in Polly Frost’s episodic series Sex Scenes.
