Jacqueline Goldfinger

Jacqueline Goldfinger

Jacqueline Goldfinger (she/they) grew up in rural North Florida with a love of music and storytelling. Today, she is an award-winning opera and choral librettist, playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist who seeks out unique collaborations, working across disciplines to create singular works of theater and opera. She works nationally and internationally on performative texts which interweave humor and...
Jacqueline Goldfinger (she/they) grew up in rural North Florida with a love of music and storytelling. Today, she is an award-winning opera and choral librettist, playwright, dramaturg, and teaching artist who seeks out unique collaborations, working across disciplines to create singular works of theater and opera. She works nationally and internationally on performative texts which interweave humor and heartbreak, speaking to our shared humanity while honoring the nuanced identities of each character. Read about her current work at: www.jacquelinegoldfinger.com

Plays

  • Backwards Forwards Back by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 8
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: war, PTSD + 5 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, political
    Keyword: war, PTSD, soldier, technology, virtual reality, one person, family
    When a soldier returns from war carrying the ghosts of their tour, they're faced with a sobering decision: address their alarming PTSD with Virtual Reality therapy, or risk losing access to their family forever. Can this new technology re-calibrate the brains and bodies of wounded soldiers? This electric, vivid, one-person show explores the power of healing and finding strength in vulnerability. Developed...
    When a soldier returns from war carrying the ghosts of their tour, they're faced with a sobering decision: address their alarming PTSD with Virtual Reality therapy, or risk losing access to their family forever. Can this new technology re-calibrate the brains and bodies of wounded soldiers? This electric, vivid, one-person show explores the power of healing and finding strength in vulnerability. Developed with support from the Sloan Foundation and Operation Warrior Resolution.
  • Babel by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 55
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: Eugenics, futuristic + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller, political, romantic comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: Eugenics, futuristic, women, queer, LGBTQ, Lesbian, infertility, baby
    “Babel” is a dark comedy set in the near future. Two couples are having trouble getting pregnant and the lengths they go to in order to have a baby raises the specter of eugenics, explores the societal value of a baby, and asks us what we are willing to risk for love. If you like Booker’s “Black Mirror,” Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go,” or Haley’s “The Nether,” then this play is for you. It requires four...
    “Babel” is a dark comedy set in the near future. Two couples are having trouble getting pregnant and the lengths they go to in order to have a baby raises the specter of eugenics, explores the societal value of a baby, and asks us what we are willing to risk for love. If you like Booker’s “Black Mirror,” Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go,” or Haley’s “The Nether,” then this play is for you. It requires four characters (3F,1M) and a flexile set.
  • The Grand Lady: The Lives and Loves of Sandra Day O'Connor by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: Supreme Court, constitutional law + 7 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, drama, faith-based, period, political
    Keyword: Supreme Court, constitutional law, law, family, period, female, History, Historic, achievement
    A new two-hander about the challenging, funny, and moving life of the first female Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O'Connor as told through her relationship with her assistant on her last day as a Supreme Court Justice in 2005. 80-minutes, no intermission.
  • Bottle Fly by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 9
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: southern gothic, Southern gay + 4 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: southern gothic, Southern gay, American identity, class and gender, interracial relationships, History
    Winner of the 2017 Yale Drama Prize and a Finalist at the 2018 International Book Awards, Bottle Fly is set in a bar in the Florida Everglades. This biting, brutally funny multigenerational family drama concerns a Gulf Coast couple, their disabled young ward, two lesbian tenants, and the bonds that bind them all together. It is a powerful story born out of the playwright’s own experiences with the rapidly...
    Winner of the 2017 Yale Drama Prize and a Finalist at the 2018 International Book Awards, Bottle Fly is set in a bar in the Florida Everglades. This biting, brutally funny multigenerational family drama concerns a Gulf Coast couple, their disabled young ward, two lesbian tenants, and the bonds that bind them all together. It is a powerful story born out of the playwright’s own experiences with the rapidly changing social environment of rural Florida, where long-standing traditions and beliefs can collide, sometimes dangerously, with new ideas of personhood, identity, and self-realization.
  • Click by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 14
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    Cast: 
    5–12
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: class and gender, gender bending + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller, political, science fiction
    Keyword: class and gender, gender bending, Transgender, technology, rape, feminist, imprisonment, college
    A techno-thriller that begins when a young woman is raped at a fraternity and ends in a future where corporations promise a new body with the swipe of a screen, CLICK follows a hacktivist named Fresh who turns industrial espionage into high art. As this virtual Banksy takes over the global imagination, the man who stole her life develops a technology that sends the two of them on a collision course at the heart...
    A techno-thriller that begins when a young woman is raped at a fraternity and ends in a future where corporations promise a new body with the swipe of a screen, CLICK follows a hacktivist named Fresh who turns industrial espionage into high art. As this virtual Banksy takes over the global imagination, the man who stole her life develops a technology that sends the two of them on a collision course at the heart of the corporate empire, where innovation comes at any cost. A cyberpunk drama for the #MeToo era, a story of trauma, transformation and reclaiming who you are. (5-12 Characters, Diverse Casting, Flexible Set) This play is meant to be individualized for each community, so changes in pronouns and cultural references are permissible.
  • The Arsonists by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 16
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Deep South, American South + 6 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: Deep South, American South, southern gothic, gothic, legacy, Fathers and Daughters, arson, magical realism
    When starting over means setting fire to what you know and love. THE ARSONISTS is a lyrical, powerhouse drama about a father-daughter arson team set in the Florida swamp lands and inspired by ELECTRA. Read the free preview on Samuel French: https://www.samuelfrench.com/s/63176/the-arsonists Read press and see more information about previous productions: https://jacqueline-goldfinger.squarespace.com
  • The Queen of the Goths by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    8–18
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    Genre: adaptation, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, period, tragedy
    Keyword: Shakespeare, Titus Andronicus, gender, women, PTSD, adaptation
    "Queen of the Goths" is inspired by Shakespeare’s infamous and bloody epic. A fierce retelling of "Titus Andronicus" from the captured Queen’s point of view set in the untamed wilds of Florida during the Victorian Age. "Titus Andronicus: Queen of the Goths" explores the performance of gender, the effects of PTSD, and how to get a gallon of blood out of an exquisite Brooks Brothers...
    "Queen of the Goths" is inspired by Shakespeare’s infamous and bloody epic. A fierce retelling of "Titus Andronicus" from the captured Queen’s point of view set in the untamed wilds of Florida during the Victorian Age. "Titus Andronicus: Queen of the Goths" explores the performance of gender, the effects of PTSD, and how to get a gallon of blood out of an exquisite Brooks Brothers suit. Perfect for fans of the original "Titus Andronicus" and Verdi’s "Falstaff" as well as films like Tarantino’s "Inglourious Basterds" and books like Morrison’s "Beloved."
  • The Terrible Girls by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: comedy, horror + 5 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, horror, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: comedy, horror, female, women, southern, south, horror comedy
    A Horror-Comedy.

    In this wicked dark comedy of friendship, obsession, and Southern sensibilities, Mr. Witherose leaves Birdie, Gretch, and Minnie to tend to his bar while he is away on business in Atlanta. Birdie and Gretch are battling for Mr. Witherose's affection in his absence, but neither knows that Minnie is guarding his terrible secret. When an innocent tryst goes awry, the ghosts of...
    A Horror-Comedy.

    In this wicked dark comedy of friendship, obsession, and Southern sensibilities, Mr. Witherose leaves Birdie, Gretch, and Minnie to tend to his bar while he is away on business in Atlanta. Birdie and Gretch are battling for Mr. Witherose's affection in his absence, but neither knows that Minnie is guarding his terrible secret. When an innocent tryst goes awry, the ghosts of sordid secrets come out into the open, providing a wild mix of fearless comedy and Southern Gothic horror.
  • Skin and Bone by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 12
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: southern gothic, humor + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: southern gothic, humor, funny, Sisters, elderly, love, love triangle, American South
    In Skin & Bone, Goldfinger returns to her roots as a Southern Gothic storyteller to spin a darkly comic tale of a set of twin cannibal grandmothers, Midge and Madge, and the love of their life. "Skin & Bone" explores the absurd adherence to the time honored traditions that destroy you.
  • The Little Mermaid (for ages 5+) by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 3 more
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    Keyword: The Little Mermaid, music + 5 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, fable/folktale, young audiences
    Keyword: The Little Mermaid, music, love, body positivity, kids, young children, Classic
    A new adaptation of THE LITTLE MERMAID for ages 5+. A Classic Fable of Love, Music, and Adventure from the timeless tale by Hans Christian Anderson. This adaptation of MERMAID focuses on finding true friendship and the power of love. In order to make it fun for younger audiences, this adaptation is told by a present day family using multi-sensory and story theater techniques.
  • Edie and Mae by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 4 more
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    Keyword: Water Crisis, rural
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, experimental, fable/folktale, political, tragedy
    Keyword: Water Crisis, rural
    The water’s gone. Mae can hear the future rushing back, maybe. Edie fell in love at first sight, definitely. A love story of two women at the edge of the world, reaching through the pipes for one last drop of salvation. (30 minute one-act for two female performers)
  • Love, Sometimes by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Recommendations: 8
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
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    Keyword: screwball
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: screwball
    A romantic screwball comedy about a couple who meet on the one year anniversary of their divorce. (10 minute play, 1 male and 1 female performer)
  • A Wind in the Door by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Cast: 
    5–11
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    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 5 more
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    Keyword: l'engle, wrinkle in time + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, drama, fable/folktale, fantasy, science fiction, young audiences
    Keyword: l'engle, wrinkle in time, youth, supernatural, Fantasy, sci-fi
    Adapted from the bestselling novel by Madeleine L'Engle, A WIND IN THE DOOR, it will be published by Stage Partners in 2022: https://www.yourstagepartners.com
  • Little Women by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: adaptation, adventure + 4 more
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    Keyword: Little Women, Louisa May Alcott + 2 more
    Genre: adaptation, adventure, comedy, drama, musical, period
    Keyword: Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, all female leads, adaptation
    In this affecting, delightful adaptation of Alcott's classic novel, the four spirited March sisters -- Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy -- endeavor to sustain their family in the absence of their father, who is away fighting the Civil War. Led by their devoted Marmee and accompanied by music from the period, each girl struggles to overcome her own limitations to become the best version of herself, even in the midst...
    In this affecting, delightful adaptation of Alcott's classic novel, the four spirited March sisters -- Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy -- endeavor to sustain their family in the absence of their father, who is away fighting the Civil War. Led by their devoted Marmee and accompanied by music from the period, each girl struggles to overcome her own limitations to become the best version of herself, even in the midst of disease, jealousy, and poverty. 40 productions and counting!!
  • A Christmas Carol by Jacqueline Goldfinger
    Cast: 
    10–44
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    Genre: adaptation, drama + 3 more
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    Keyword: A Christmas Carol, celebrating christmas + 4 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fable/folktale, musical, period
    Keyword: A Christmas Carol, celebrating christmas, Christmas Carol, Christmas carols, Christmas carols and music, Charles Dickens
    This swift adaptation of the Christmas classic remains true to the original story by incorporating portions of the Dickens' novella not usually seen on the stage or screen. Infused with a myriad of popular Christmas carols and a subtle twist of contemporary humor, the morality tale of Ebenezer Scrooge is once again alive with holiday spirit. 90 productions and counting!