Jeff Jenkins

Jeff Jenkins

Jeff is a Chicago playwright. He was recently awarded the Playwrights in Our Schools grant through AATE, taking place in Utah, fall 2020, for Scout’s Honor. He completed a residency with the TYE Center (UVU), winner of the Old Miner Children's Playwriting competition, Spring 2019, Timmon and the Magic Shoes. He is a two-time semi-finalist with Write Now and NYU's New Plays for Young Audiences. Plays...
Jeff is a Chicago playwright. He was recently awarded the Playwrights in Our Schools grant through AATE, taking place in Utah, fall 2020, for Scout’s Honor. He completed a residency with the TYE Center (UVU), winner of the Old Miner Children's Playwriting competition, Spring 2019, Timmon and the Magic Shoes. He is a two-time semi-finalist with Write Now and NYU's New Plays for Young Audiences. Plays which have been workshopped or produced include The Purple Heart, The Day Starbucks Stood Still, Minotaur of Warren Park, Monarch Ashes, and Montenegro. His play The Jumping Giraffe of the Savannah is published by YouthPLAYS. His plays have had readings at Adventure Stage Chicago, Northwestern University, Utah Valley University, TYA/USA national conferences, AATE conferences, and Chicago Dramatists. Jeff serves as co-chair of the Playwrights Network, AATE and also serves on the Young Playwrights for Change National Competition selection committee (AATE & TYA/USA). He is a Network Playwright with Chicago Dramatists, as well as member of the Dramatists Guild, TYA/USA and AATE.

Plays

  • Scout's Honor
    In school, we are taught to accept history as truth. What if you discovered something about history that isn’t exactly the truth? Interpreting symbols carved on an old rock leads SCOUT to uncover a mystery. She and her friends are challenged to keep what they find a secret. What they learn about themselves may send the truth flying apart.
    This is a good play for Elementary (4-8 grades), Magical realism, drama
  • Victory Garden
    CALUM MURPHY, a hearing-impaired boy. Struggling with acceptance at school and taunted by the most popular kid, hulking AUSTIN CROWLEY, CALUM destroys the garden of outsider KAYKO YOSHIDA in a fit of anger. Tasked to restore the "place of peace," the GARDEN reveals it's magic. Exploring this
    new world, CALUM is challenged to see their self and the world differently. How do they balance a...
    CALUM MURPHY, a hearing-impaired boy. Struggling with acceptance at school and taunted by the most popular kid, hulking AUSTIN CROWLEY, CALUM destroys the garden of outsider KAYKO YOSHIDA in a fit of anger. Tasked to restore the "place of peace," the GARDEN reveals it's magic. Exploring this
    new world, CALUM is challenged to see their self and the world differently. How do they balance a
    friendship with LENORA FLORES and help KAYKO? Will CALUM accept the challenge or return to their former path? *This is a good play for Elementary (4-8 grades), Magical realism, drama
  • Monarch Ashes
    Hannah tries to recapture “normal” after a family loss and her brother, Ryan's attempted suicide. She looks for meaning in the aftermath as Ryan looks for a lifeline. Hannah and Ryan discover the world is not what it seems as they walk a fine line between this world and the next. The play looks at how we accept and take blame for our actions and meaning in the afterlife
    *This is a good play for High...
    Hannah tries to recapture “normal” after a family loss and her brother, Ryan's attempted suicide. She looks for meaning in the aftermath as Ryan looks for a lifeline. Hannah and Ryan discover the world is not what it seems as they walk a fine line between this world and the next. The play looks at how we accept and take blame for our actions and meaning in the afterlife
    *This is a good play for High School, Mystery, drama
  • Warren Park
    In a lonely hospital room, KURT recounts the encounter with a bully on the basketball court. His mother lies in a coma, unable to provide guidance. set in Chicago.*This is a good monologue for H.S., Drama
  • Timmon and The Magic Shoes
    Dangers lurk around every corner on the African Savannah as dogs and lions are out hunting. Wandering away from home, Timmon, a young giraffe born with a noticeably short neck, stumbles into threatening territory. While finding a safe path, Timmon meets a grasshopper who isn’t able to jump, and a dog who is vision-impaired. Trouble finds these three travelers in the form of a rival pack of dogs. Will these...
    Dangers lurk around every corner on the African Savannah as dogs and lions are out hunting. Wandering away from home, Timmon, a young giraffe born with a noticeably short neck, stumbles into threatening territory. While finding a safe path, Timmon meets a grasshopper who isn’t able to jump, and a dog who is vision-impaired. Trouble finds these three travelers in the form of a rival pack of dogs. Will these three new acquaintances band together or will they let their differences continue to keep them apart?
    This is a good play for elementary (K-6). Themes: Diversity and Inclusion, Disability, Community, and Friendship.

  • The Purple Heart
    KURT WASHINGTON, a young boy is forced to live with his grandmother, a distant woman named TRICIA NORRIS, after his mother (MARTA) is in an accident an lies in a hospital in a coma. Both Kurt and Tricia struggle to reacquaint themselves and move forward. At a certain point, a young doctor, MIKE JONES, who is an Army veteran offers Kurt a shoulder to lean on. Ultimately, Kurt and Tricia realize they need each...
    KURT WASHINGTON, a young boy is forced to live with his grandmother, a distant woman named TRICIA NORRIS, after his mother (MARTA) is in an accident an lies in a hospital in a coma. Both Kurt and Tricia struggle to reacquaint themselves and move forward. At a certain point, a young doctor, MIKE JONES, who is an Army veteran offers Kurt a shoulder to lean on. Ultimately, Kurt and Tricia realize they need each other in order to move forward.
    *This is a good play for upper Elementary & H.S., Drama
  • The Day Starbucks Stood Still
    Two adolescent extraterrestrial visitors to Earth, become the herald of upheaval when they pick a local Starbucks to deliver an important message. This is a 10-minute play.
    *This is a good radio play or stage play for upper Elementary & H.S., Drama

  • Montenegro
    It’s the spring of 1991, war has broken out and two Serbian men go AWOL to escape fighting in the Croatian War of Independence. Their forced confinement leads them to uncomfortable discovers about themselves and the world as they see it. This is a 10-minute play
    *This is a good play for H.S., College, Adults. Drama


  • The Jumping Giraffe of the Savannah
    Timmon, a hungry young giraffe with a penchant for trouble, wanders far from home in search of food. While searching for breakfast, the giraffe meets a grasshopper who can't jump and a dog who is vision-impaired. Could it be the start of a new friendship, or will they let their differences keep them apart?
    *A 10-minute play. This is a good play for lower Elementary Comedy, Drama