Jenny Connell Davis

Jenny grew up in Maine, where she worked as a dishwasher, nanny and raspberry farmer, before spending a year in Spain with Valencian separatists (long story). After studying anthropology at The University of Chicago, she trained as an actor at Steppenwolf. She's worked as a college counselor at private schools in Park Slope and Maryland, and for families on six continents (there are NDAs, so she can't tell you much).

Her plays have been developed and/or produced at the O'Neill, Ars Nova, Asolo Rep, Chance Theater, ACT (Seattle), Palm Beach Dramaworks and through NNPN. She has developed film and tv projects for SONY, Disney and Amazon, and works for the multi-emmy-winning Baobab Studios, developing stories across VR, tv, film, graphic novels, games and traditional novels. She is the...

Jenny grew up in Maine, where she worked as a dishwasher, nanny and raspberry farmer, before spending a year in Spain with Valencian separatists (long story). After studying anthropology at The University of Chicago, she trained as an actor at Steppenwolf. She's worked as a college counselor at private schools in Park Slope and Maryland, and for families on six continents (there are NDAs, so she can't tell you much).

Her plays have been developed and/or produced at the O'Neill, Ars Nova, Asolo Rep, Chance Theater, ACT (Seattle), Palm Beach Dramaworks and through NNPN. She has developed film and tv projects for SONY, Disney and Amazon, and works for the multi-emmy-winning Baobab Studios, developing stories across VR, tv, film, graphic novels, games and traditional novels. She is the Playwright in Residence and Literary Manager at Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach, an ensemble member with the Gift Theatre in Chicago, and a regular trouble-maker at Chance Theatre in Orange County.

Jenny currently lives in Texas, where she frequently finds scorpions in the dishwasher and fights to keep books on the shelves of her local library. She makes an excellent pillow fort.
Mgmt: Daniela Gonzalez, Good Fear Films

Scripts

ANTON CHEKHOV IS A TASTY SNACK

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

A small theater company with big ambitions decides to mount the best dang production of Chekhov's The Seagull that this town has ever seen. But as the rehearsal process draws on for months, art imitates life imitating art and the whole cast goes increasingly around the bend. A wildly fast-and-loose adaptation of The Seagull, Jenny Connell Davis's new comedy takes on the absurdity of making theater.

A small theater company with big ambitions decides to mount the best dang production of Chekhov's The Seagull that this town has ever seen. But as the rehearsal process draws on for months, art imitates life imitating art and the whole cast goes increasingly around the bend. A wildly fast-and-loose adaptation of The Seagull, Jenny Connell Davis's new comedy takes on the absurdity of making theater.

The Messenger

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

A meditation on the connections between past, present, and future, and on the choice between speaking up and speaking out regardless of the consequences or remaining silent for the sake of self-preservation. Inspired by the life of Hungarian Holocaust survivor Georgia Gabor, the play interweaves her story with that of a young American woman facing racial discrimination in this country in 2020.

A meditation on the connections between past, present, and future, and on the choice between speaking up and speaking out regardless of the consequences or remaining silent for the sake of self-preservation. Inspired by the life of Hungarian Holocaust survivor Georgia Gabor, the play interweaves her story with that of a young American woman facing racial discrimination in this country in 2020.

MATINICUS

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

A girl. A rock. A lighthouse. Endless frigid ocean. A storm.
Inspired by the true story of Maine folk heroine Abigail Burgess, this is a story of community, isolation, and resilience in the face of forces far greater than ourselves.

A girl. A rock. A lighthouse. Endless frigid ocean. A storm.
Inspired by the true story of Maine folk heroine Abigail Burgess, this is a story of community, isolation, and resilience in the face of forces far greater than ourselves.

AS I SEE IT

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

Painter Alice Neel is tired in working in obscurity at the fringes of the New York art scene. Poet Frank O'Hara, curator for the MoMA and gay playboy, is its gatekeeper. Neel convinces him to let her paint his portrait and over the course of five sittings these two forces of nature test each other, best each other, and reveal themselves in ways they never imagined. Inspired by real people and events -- and...

Painter Alice Neel is tired in working in obscurity at the fringes of the New York art scene. Poet Frank O'Hara, curator for the MoMA and gay playboy, is its gatekeeper. Neel convinces him to let her paint his portrait and over the course of five sittings these two forces of nature test each other, best each other, and reveal themselves in ways they never imagined. Inspired by real people and events -- and paintings -- this play is a rendering of two brilliant outcasts clawing their way to fame in Mad Men-era NYC.

END OF SHIFT

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

It’s the end of a long day washing dishes at the Spurwink Country Kitchen, and friends-for-life Jesse, Ben, and Max are on a mission to create a fitting memorial to their fallen hometown hero. But when the prettiest girl in town shows up on their doorstep, everything the boys know about love, life and loyalty gets called into question. A play about toxic masculinity, adolescence, assault, and how to move...

It’s the end of a long day washing dishes at the Spurwink Country Kitchen, and friends-for-life Jesse, Ben, and Max are on a mission to create a fitting memorial to their fallen hometown hero. But when the prettiest girl in town shows up on their doorstep, everything the boys know about love, life and loyalty gets called into question. A play about toxic masculinity, adolescence, assault, and how to move forward.

SCIENTIFIC METHOD

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

Amy’s a cutting-edge cancer researcher on the edge of a breakthrough…and the edge of a nervous breakdown. When her big project gets “scooped,” and a handsome new colleague starts asking questions, Amy discovers that she’s the one under the microscope.

Amy’s a cutting-edge cancer researcher on the edge of a breakthrough…and the edge of a nervous breakdown. When her big project gets “scooped,” and a handsome new colleague starts asking questions, Amy discovers that she’s the one under the microscope.

The Dragon Play

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

On a lonely farm in northern Minnesota, a husband and wife's peaceful existence is shattered by the appearance of an unexpected visitor. On a hot stretch of highway in central Texas, a boy befriends a wounded dragon. Spanning two moments in time and space and blurring the lines between each, The Dragon Play explores what happens when reality and fantasy converge, when desire and duty conflict, and when our...

On a lonely farm in northern Minnesota, a husband and wife's peaceful existence is shattered by the appearance of an unexpected visitor. On a hot stretch of highway in central Texas, a boy befriends a wounded dragon. Spanning two moments in time and space and blurring the lines between each, The Dragon Play explores what happens when reality and fantasy converge, when desire and duty conflict, and when our deepest secrets show up breathing fire.

GODDESS OF MERCY

by Jenny Connell Davis

Synopsis

Kate and Mike struggle to hold it together as they juggle their fraying relationship, a major renovation, and his transcontinental commute. When Mike’s sister Brianna crash-lands on their couch after three years in the Peace Corps, and finds out Mike’s oil company is sending him to hush up trouble in the same part of Asia she just left, their opposing views provoke an international incident. A contemporary drama...

Kate and Mike struggle to hold it together as they juggle their fraying relationship, a major renovation, and his transcontinental commute. When Mike’s sister Brianna crash-lands on their couch after three years in the Peace Corps, and finds out Mike’s oil company is sending him to hush up trouble in the same part of Asia she just left, their opposing views provoke an international incident. A contemporary drama full of acid-laced humor, GODDESS OF MERCY asks tough questions about what it means to "mind our own business" in a rapidly-shrinking world.