Janice Maffei

Janice Maffei

A recent Ucross Fellow, Janice Maffei has an MFA in playwriting from Stony Brook University where Annie Baker mentored her final project, “How to Bury a Saint.” “Saint” was mounted in an equity production at The Schoolhouse Theater in NY and received a favorable New York Times review. Her work explores how women claim power and how the world – from the kitchen table to conference room – changes because of that...
A recent Ucross Fellow, Janice Maffei has an MFA in playwriting from Stony Brook University where Annie Baker mentored her final project, “How to Bury a Saint.” “Saint” was mounted in an equity production at The Schoolhouse Theater in NY and received a favorable New York Times review. Her work explores how women claim power and how the world – from the kitchen table to conference room – changes because of that. Also known as a storyteller on stage, Janice has published in a variety of genres including poetry and essay. She serves on the board of The Lilly Awards which honors the work of women theatre artists.
She has four full-length plays to her credit, the television pilot "Amity" and a handful of short plays including "Re-Upholstered" which appeared in The Southampton Review and won a Netty Award.
Janice hosts the program "Funny Over Fifty" which features the stories, comedy, and music of women and non-binary folk.

Plays

  • I, Artemisia, Made This by Janice Maffei
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: adventure, biography + 3 more
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    Keyword: 17th Century women, women + 2 more
    Genre: adventure, biography, dark comedy, docudrama/historic, period
    Keyword: 17th Century women, women, Art and Artists, Baroque Badass
    How does an artist's identify form and how does it manifest on the canvas? This story explores the world of the brilliant Artemisia Gentileschi - a peer of Caravaggio in the 17th century - and the original and revolutionary choices she made in her masterworks. Artemisia was a baroque badass who overcame personal tragedy and oppressive patriarchy with her sparkling wit, her genius on the canvas, and her...
    How does an artist's identify form and how does it manifest on the canvas? This story explores the world of the brilliant Artemisia Gentileschi - a peer of Caravaggio in the 17th century - and the original and revolutionary choices she made in her masterworks. Artemisia was a baroque badass who overcame personal tragedy and oppressive patriarchy with her sparkling wit, her genius on the canvas, and her agency as a woman in a man's world. See how six of her finest works carry her feminist messages with startling impact.
  • How to Bury a Saint by Janice Maffei
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: women's rights, Politics + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, political
    Keyword: women's rights, Politics, Italian American, Women Leaders, family traditions, Meatballs, suffrage, women's suffrage
    A comic drama with political overtones evoking the historic 2016 election, "Saint" explores one woman's quest to be taken seriously within the male power structure. This dark comedy explores the generational conflicts around aging, gender roles and whether traditions can be sustained in a world where everyone’s too busy to learn how to make the meatballs.Inspired by true events in Brooklyn!...
    A comic drama with political overtones evoking the historic 2016 election, "Saint" explores one woman's quest to be taken seriously within the male power structure. This dark comedy explores the generational conflicts around aging, gender roles and whether traditions can be sustained in a world where everyone’s too busy to learn how to make the meatballs.Inspired by true events in Brooklyn!
    Bocce season is underway in Nutley, NJ and Patsy, an old-school Italian matriarch, wants in as a voting member of the club. Her grandson, Louis, is mystified by his Nonna’s quest and struggling with his own path forward in a high-tech world that feels remote and unfriendly. And his mother, Lucy, continues the simmering feud with his Nonna that has marked his entire life. Is there any way to upend the Old Boy's Club and bring the family together at the same table at the same time?
    https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/nyregion/review-in-how-to-bury-a-saint-bocce-the-tarantella-and-relationships.html
  • Re-Upholstered by Janice Maffei
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: empty nest, Relationships + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: empty nest, Relationships, career woman, corporate law, adult romantic comedy
    Julia goes shopping for new upholstery for a family heirloom and discovers that the restored chair may not "fit" in her lonely, married life.