JENNIFER ROWLAND
Playwright
FULL LENGTH PLAYS
REGULAR JOES
Characters: 4F, 1M
Nineteen year-old Josie Ricks adores her father, Joe Ricks - and that’s why she’ll stand with him, along with her mother and brothers, when he announces his candidacy for the Senate. But when Josie’s childhood friend implicates Joe in a compromising sexual encounter, Josie starts to see her father in ways she never did before. “Regular Joes” is the private, family drama behind a public sex scandal.
Workshops: Lab Results - Antaeus Theater Company New Play Festival, 2019, Glendale, CA. Jonathan Lynn (Director).
Honors and Recognition: Honorable Mention at Pandora’s Box New Play Festival.
THE HOUSE OF MIRTH
Characters: 4F, 3M
Lily Bart wants to marry for love. But that’s not an option for a poor young woman traveling in New York high society. When she doesn’t play by the rules and do what’s expected, Lily friends turn against her in a tale of slut shaming, circa 1906. Adapted from the novel by Edith Wharton and told in a minimal style with actors doubling parts.
THE CHANGELING
Characters: 2F, 1M
Ann and Daniel return to a deserted cabin in the woods. Seven years earlier, their daughter Angelica disappeared and their marriage and lives have been destroyed by the tragedy. Daniel urges Ann to accept their loss and move on but she clings to the hope that Angelica will return to them. That night a storm moves in- the electricity goes out, and a mysterious child appears. She looks exactly like Angelica, at the age of eleven. But their Angelica would be eighteen...
Productions:
Audio Play- Antaeus Theatre Company, 2022, Los Angeles, CA. Cameron Watson, (Director), Jeff Gardner (Sound Designer), Bill Brochtrup (Artistic Director)
Stage Play- The Lost Child, Skylight Theatre, 2017, Los Angeles, CA. Denise Blasor (Director), Gary Grossman, Tony Abatemarco (Artistic Directors).
THE COLD INSIDE
Characters: 4F, 3M
The Snow Queen kidnaps a boy and imprisons him in her frozen palace; a man steps in front of a bus at Washington Square and now lies motionless in a hospital room; a woman running from her recent past happens into the room when the man wakes. He does not remember anything about himself, his life or the accident. The woman is hurt and fragile but the man’s suffering moves her and she reluctantly agrees to try to help him recover his memory and identity. As the two chip away at the mystery of the man’s life and secrets, they find themselves drawn together as well as torn apart by the bonds they share.
Workshops:
The Road Theatre Company, North Hollywood, CA. Official Selection, Summer Playwrights Festival 2016. Susan Diol (Director).
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland, August 2015. Michael John Garcés (Director), Andrew Carlberg, (Producer)
HEARTBREAKER
Characters: 4F, 4M
It’s post World War II San Francisco and Violet Fairfax wants nothing more than to please her father, a stern task master and self-made man who believes the world is a knowable and controllable place. But Violet’s mind is anything but, and try as she might, she simply cannot tame the frightening forces taking over her brain.
THE CONTEST
Characters: 2F, 2M
Amanda and Karl are the stars of their graduating art school class: talented, in love and about to go head-to-head in a high profile contest that will make the winner’s career. But then one of them makes a decision that forever changes the lives and futures of all three young artists.
Productions:
Edinburgh Fringe Festival, 2009, Scotland. Sarah Zinsser (Director), Ines Wurth (Producer).
The Powerhouse Theater, 2009, Santa Monica, CA. Sarah Zinsser (Director). Pacific Resident Theatre Co-Op, 2008.
THE INDIANS ARE COMING TO DINNER
Characters: 2F, 5M
San Francisco, November, 1984. Morning in America, but chaos at the Blackburn residence. This world premiere comedy about ambition, passion, and obligation, pits a father’s aspirations against his daughter’s dreams. A funny, sweet, and touching new play, “The Indians Are Coming to Dinner” serves up dysfunction, enlightenment, opera, and some bad curry.
Productions:
Pacific Resident Theatre, 2012, Venice, CA. Julia Fletcher (Director), Marilyn Fox (Artistic Director).
JAMAL ("DITMAS PARK")
Characters: 3F, 2M
When 15 year old Tori goes to work as a summer intern for her god mother’s new boyfriend, Jamal, everyone is thrilled- until Tori's new stepmother discovers disturbing sexually explicit photos in his home office.
Workshops:
Lab Results, Antaeus Theater Company New Play Festival, 2020, Glendale, CA. Michael John Garcés (Director).
Honors and Recognition:
Semi-Finalist Garry Marshall Theatre, New Works Festival, 2020.
Quarterfinalist for Screencraft Stage Play Competition.
ONE GOOD DEATH
Characters: 3F, 3M
The Blackburn Family patriarch dies - but he won’t go away! A companion piece to "The Indians are Coming to Dinner", "One Good Death" takes up with the San Francisco Blackburns 15 years after the end of "The Indians”.
Workshops:
The Road Theatre Company, North Hollywood, CA - Official Selection, Summer Playwrights Festival 2012. Julia Fletcher (Director).
SHORT PLAYS
BRETT & ASHLEY
Running Time: 25 Minutes
Characters: 1M, 1F
Brett and Ashley meet at the White House just before 9/11 and the national crisis seals their romance. 15 years later, an incident from the past threatens to upend everything they have achieved in their lives.
Productions:
New Perspectives Theatre Company, New York, NY. Women's Work Short Play Festival, December 2021. Kubi (Director), Melody Brooks (Artistic Director), Jenny Greeman (Manager, Short Play Lab).
IN THE HITE
Running Time: 10 Minutes
Characters: 2F
1976- the Women's Movement is in full force and the world is feelin’ groovy. In an apartment overlooking Central Park, a secret meeting takes place between two famous women coming at sex from opposite ends of Women's Lib.
Breaking and Entering
Running Time: 8 minutes
Characters:1F
A woman wakes up in her grandson's bed and recounts how she got there.
STILL WAITING
Running Time: 1 minute
Characters: 2F
A FaceTime call in the time of COVID19.
Productions:
City of West Hollywood and Playwrights Ink, “While You Wait”: 8 One-Minute Virtual Plays, September 2020. Cameron Watson (Director).
RADIO PLAYS
THE CHANGELING
Characters: 1M, 2F
An estranged couple returns to their deserted cabin in the woods to pack it up. A storm moves in, a strange, mysterious child appears… could this be their lost child come home?
Production:
Antaeus Theatre Company, Fall 2022