Jack Padgett

Jack Padgett is an Atlanta-based playwright and screenwriter. His one-act play, "A Matter of Life and Death" was a selection for Horizon Theatre Company's 2018 New South Young Playwrights Festival; after getting connected with Horizon, Jack joined their 2019-2020 Apprentice Company as a playwright. He wrote three shows which premiered on Horizon’s stage: "Swing", "The Eleventh Crusade", and "Whale Fall" (which did so virtually). Upon completing the program, Jack transitioned to directing NSYPF himself, spending 4 years honing his skills as a producer and investing in undergraduate playwrights from around the country.

In addition to his work in theatre, Jack is an avid screenwriter, with awards from the International Screenwriter's Association, The Page International Screenwriting Awards...

Jack Padgett is an Atlanta-based playwright and screenwriter. His one-act play, "A Matter of Life and Death" was a selection for Horizon Theatre Company's 2018 New South Young Playwrights Festival; after getting connected with Horizon, Jack joined their 2019-2020 Apprentice Company as a playwright. He wrote three shows which premiered on Horizon’s stage: "Swing", "The Eleventh Crusade", and "Whale Fall" (which did so virtually). Upon completing the program, Jack transitioned to directing NSYPF himself, spending 4 years honing his skills as a producer and investing in undergraduate playwrights from around the country.

In addition to his work in theatre, Jack is an avid screenwriter, with awards from the International Screenwriter's Association, The Page International Screenwriting Awards, and the Atlanta Film Festival, which honored his feature "Stormrunner" as a winner in 2026. Jack also works as a Production Coordinator in the vibrant Atlanta commercial scene; the skills he's developed in this role have enabled him to self-produce his own work, and he's currently in the process of editing his second short film with his creative partner, Diego Mallens, under their moniker "In Theory Films."

Jack grew up in Owensboro, Kentucky with two parents and a progressively greater number of younger siblings that eventually ended in six.

Scripts

Head Space

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

Penelope Darby leads a difficult life. It's a life characterized by divorce, childhood trauma, alcoholism, and a strained relationship with her only son, Sean. Her rich mother's death was supposed to offer some respite, but when the will reveals a much smaller inheritance (and far more mason jars) than expected, she begins a downward spiral; one that begins to drag her already troubled son down with her.

Sean...

Penelope Darby leads a difficult life. It's a life characterized by divorce, childhood trauma, alcoholism, and a strained relationship with her only son, Sean. Her rich mother's death was supposed to offer some respite, but when the will reveals a much smaller inheritance (and far more mason jars) than expected, she begins a downward spiral; one that begins to drag her already troubled son down with her.

Sean, by all considerations, is not a "normal" high school senior. He's awkward, socially incapable (save for his lone relationship with good egg Michael Hartwell), and has some strange hobbies. His life is a delicate balance, but one that he finds comfort in... until it starts to tip. With the fallout from the will, his already-volatile relationship with his mother has been upended, and it has opened the door to a host of other problems lurking just below the surface.

Characterized by the unstable mother-son relationship at its core, Head Space is a play about denial, familial relationships, and how the things we've been through affect the things we have now, despite our attempts to convince ourselves they don't.

Whale Fall

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

Rachel DiMathers is on the cusp of publishing the next great Young Adult novel. Her manuscript, "Whale Fall," has turned heads at the prestigious Starling Literary, Inc., and she's been called in for the most important meeting of her fledgling career. Her younger sister, Claire, fresh out of rehab, reveals in the midst of these professional dealings that she is also an aspiring writer... one that may rival the...

Rachel DiMathers is on the cusp of publishing the next great Young Adult novel. Her manuscript, "Whale Fall," has turned heads at the prestigious Starling Literary, Inc., and she's been called in for the most important meeting of her fledgling career. Her younger sister, Claire, fresh out of rehab, reveals in the midst of these professional dealings that she is also an aspiring writer... one that may rival the lofty ambitions of her determined older sister. "Whale Fall" is a play about addiction, sibling rivalry, and how rising to the top is often more animalistic than we care to admit.

Pinktop

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

A father must explain to his beloved eight-year-old daughter that he has lost custody of her five years after his divorce.

A father must explain to his beloved eight-year-old daughter that he has lost custody of her five years after his divorce.

A Matter of Life and Death

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

A pair of deceased roommates attempt to navigate the world of the living together despite being bound to the room they killed one another in eleven years ago.

A pair of deceased roommates attempt to navigate the world of the living together despite being bound to the room they killed one another in eleven years ago.

Swing

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

On the metal stands at the edge of her son's tee-ball game, Erin Reed struggles to cope with complicated feelings for her husband's sister.

On the metal stands at the edge of her son's tee-ball game, Erin Reed struggles to cope with complicated feelings for her husband's sister.

The Eleventh Crusade

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

At her mother's funeral, newly orphaned 17-year-old Mia Fischer must come to terms with moving in with her estranged uncle and cousin while leaving behind the life she knows.

At her mother's funeral, newly orphaned 17-year-old Mia Fischer must come to terms with moving in with her estranged uncle and cousin while leaving behind the life she knows.

Make Merry (Or How to Survive Your Family on Holidays)

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

When a sudden snowstorm traps college student Kirsten Bentley and her family together in their childhood home for the holidays, they’re forced to confront the things that have kept them apart in ways that none of them could predict. Through quick humor and deep heart in a family-friendly environment, Make Merry paints a picture of just what it’s like to live in a crazy family where everyone has the answers, yet...

When a sudden snowstorm traps college student Kirsten Bentley and her family together in their childhood home for the holidays, they’re forced to confront the things that have kept them apart in ways that none of them could predict. Through quick humor and deep heart in a family-friendly environment, Make Merry paints a picture of just what it’s like to live in a crazy family where everyone has the answers, yet nobody’s listening.

Blue

by Jack Padgett

Synopsis

A man waits in a restaurant to propose to his girlfriend while a well-meaning waitress attempts to quell his nerves.

A man waits in a restaurant to propose to his girlfriend while a well-meaning waitress attempts to quell his nerves.