Jeesun Choi

Jeesun Choi is a transnational Korean playwright who also writes for screen and opera. Select plays: Melanie in Minneapolis, 1305 Mortmain Lane, BUST, To the Ends of the Earth / 땅끝까지, Lost Coast, and The Seekers. Her work has been presented and developed at Soho Rep, JACK, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Realm, Bushwick Starr, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, American Opera Project, Prelude Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Nashville Rep, and more. She has been honored with the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, NYC Women’s Fund, The Kilroys and MacDowell Fellowship. She is currently a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, an affiliated artist at New Georges, and a member of DGA and WGA. MFA, Dell’Arte International. www.jeesunchoi.com

Jeesun Choi is a transnational Korean playwright who also writes for screen and opera. Select plays: Melanie in Minneapolis, 1305 Mortmain Lane, BUST, To the Ends of the Earth / 땅끝까지, Lost Coast, and The Seekers. Her work has been presented and developed at Soho Rep, JACK, New York Theatre Workshop, Playwrights Realm, Bushwick Starr, Bay Area Playwrights Festival, American Opera Project, Prelude Festival, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Nashville Rep, and more. She has been honored with the Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, NYC Women’s Fund, The Kilroys and MacDowell Fellowship. She is currently a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, an affiliated artist at New Georges, and a member of DGA and WGA. MFA, Dell’Arte International. www.jeesunchoi.com

Scripts

Melanie in Minneapolis

by Jeesun Choi

Cast Size
5
Genre
comedy,
romantic comedy

Melanie is perfectly content with her cynicism but her friend Charlotte is dead set on changing that — by setting her up with a charming Argentinian. Charlotte’s well-intentioned mission kicks off a rollercoaster of events, forcing the two friends to rethink everything about themselves. This comedic romp through the two years of Melanie’s life explores the possibilities and limits of American optimism and the...

Melanie is perfectly content with her cynicism but her friend Charlotte is dead set on changing that — by setting her up with a charming Argentinian. Charlotte’s well-intentioned mission kicks off a rollercoaster of events, forcing the two friends to rethink everything about themselves. This comedic romp through the two years of Melanie’s life explores the possibilities and limits of American optimism and the balancing act of staying true to ourselves while living up to the expectations set by the people we love.

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BUST

by Jeesun Choi

1
Cast Size
6
Genre
comedy,
experimental,
period

Sein fights for the leadership of her Model United Nations team. An economist gives one last lecture. Fish Grandma goes to the bank. Meanwhile, the global market teeters on the brink of collapse. BUST explores the money in our wallets, the illusions it buys, and the future it promises.

Sein fights for the leadership of her Model United Nations team. An economist gives one last lecture. Fish Grandma goes to the bank. Meanwhile, the global market teeters on the brink of collapse. BUST explores the money in our wallets, the illusions it buys, and the future it promises.

Lost Coast

by Jeesun Choi

1
Cast Size
7
Genre
drama,
experimental

In a coastal forest in northern California live Sheila, Pru, Angel, Gigi, Nara and Joon, isolated from society, quietly struggling in the shadows of a growingly oppressive world. When a wildfire burns down a nearby town, and a new person (Stephen) joins their commune, their lives start to unravel as the force of change pushes them to leave, confront their fears, and sacrifice the little they have. This seven...

In a coastal forest in northern California live Sheila, Pru, Angel, Gigi, Nara and Joon, isolated from society, quietly struggling in the shadows of a growingly oppressive world. When a wildfire burns down a nearby town, and a new person (Stephen) joins their commune, their lives start to unravel as the force of change pushes them to leave, confront their fears, and sacrifice the little they have. This seven-protagonist play explores what community and compassion mean in the face of irrevocable change.

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Manuka

by Jeesun Choi

1
Cast Size
4
Genre
comedy,
period

Sungho flunks out of college and his business-savvy mother is worried. But his business-savvier father turns up out of nowhere with the greatest idea he's ever had. This could be the answer to all of their prayers.

Sungho flunks out of college and his business-savvy mother is worried. But his business-savvier father turns up out of nowhere with the greatest idea he's ever had. This could be the answer to all of their prayers.

The Seekers

by Jeesun Choi

2
Cast Size
6
Genre
drama,
experimental,
movement/physical

Ilhan is a Somali high school student living in Minneapolis on the verge of deportation when she is visited by figures from far-flung places: the Arctic, European fringes, and an African refugee camp. They draw her into an unseen and forgotten world that exists just beyond reality and appeal to her for the sanctuary of their souls. When the letter from the immigration office arrives, Ilhan decides to pursue her...

Ilhan is a Somali high school student living in Minneapolis on the verge of deportation when she is visited by figures from far-flung places: the Arctic, European fringes, and an African refugee camp. They draw her into an unseen and forgotten world that exists just beyond reality and appeal to her for the sanctuary of their souls. When the letter from the immigration office arrives, Ilhan decides to pursue her own freedom. A poetic drama on displacement, environment, and freedom.

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