Jef Petersen

Jef Petersen is a playwright, director, educator and sometimes actor. He currently lives on the border of Washington and Idaho in the beautiful area known as the Palouse. He holds a MFA in Playwriting and Directing from the University of Idaho and a MA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Playwriting Pedagogy from the University of Oregon. His plays have been performed around the country, and his play "An Elaborate System of Ropes and Pulleys" was performed as a fully staged reading in Emory University's Brave New Works Festival. His newest full-length, "The Edge of the Canyon", is based on true events from Canyon County, Idaho, where he grew up. His most performed play is "The Naked Play", which has amazingly been performed by casts who only meet for the first time when the play is...

Jef Petersen is a playwright, director, educator and sometimes actor. He currently lives on the border of Washington and Idaho in the beautiful area known as the Palouse. He holds a MFA in Playwriting and Directing from the University of Idaho and a MA in Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Playwriting Pedagogy from the University of Oregon. His plays have been performed around the country, and his play "An Elaborate System of Ropes and Pulleys" was performed as a fully staged reading in Emory University's Brave New Works Festival. His newest full-length, "The Edge of the Canyon", is based on true events from Canyon County, Idaho, where he grew up. His most performed play is "The Naked Play", which has amazingly been performed by casts who only meet for the first time when the play is performed. Petersen has directed a wide range of plays in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, including: "The Dog in the Manger" by Lope de Vega, "Dead Man's Cell Phone" by Sarah Ruhl, "Ordinary Time" a new work by Sandra Hosking, and multiple devised and improvised shows. Jef practices and teaches the Meisner approach to acting. He has worked professionally as an improv actor in Oregon and Idaho but has been on a bit of an improv hiatus for the past three years. He is an avid painter and does it any chance he gets, which is not often enough. He is a bit of a bibliophile and has worked for two years with a master book binder where he has learned the craft of rebinding books so they can last another 100 years.

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Scripts

The Edge of the Canyon

by Jef Petersen

1
Cast Size
5
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
political

Kim, a down on her luck self-proclaimed badass, finds herself gravitating to the safety of Brian, a middle-aged recent parolee who gives tattoos to make money. When their night is interrupted by the corpulent Russ they find that they’ve attracted the ire of a local drug-runner because of Brian's questionable past. Things get worse when Brian's estranged teenage daughter shows up on the doorstep with the worst...

Kim, a down on her luck self-proclaimed badass, finds herself gravitating to the safety of Brian, a middle-aged recent parolee who gives tattoos to make money. When their night is interrupted by the corpulent Russ they find that they’ve attracted the ire of a local drug-runner because of Brian's questionable past. Things get worse when Brian's estranged teenage daughter shows up on the doorstep with the worst possible timing. Despite Brian’s efforts to keep his hands clean and lead Kim away from a life of crime, he finds that sometimes living on the edge of the canyon means you might get pushed over the edge. Based on true events.

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An Elaborate System of Ropes and Pulleys

by Jef Petersen

1
Cast Size
6—12
Genre
comedy,
dark comedy,
drama,
movement/physical

Jaded and emotionally aloof string theory physicist, Tess, finds herself mysteriously shifting through time and space as she grapples with the loss of a loved one. Faced with the dark embodiment of her fear, Tess discovers that her scientific world is not orderly, but is in fact controlled by a vague and elaborate system of ropes and pulleys, with which she must reconcile her beliefs and understanding of self.

Jaded and emotionally aloof string theory physicist, Tess, finds herself mysteriously shifting through time and space as she grapples with the loss of a loved one. Faced with the dark embodiment of her fear, Tess discovers that her scientific world is not orderly, but is in fact controlled by a vague and elaborate system of ropes and pulleys, with which she must reconcile her beliefs and understanding of self.

The Naked Play

by Jef Petersen

1
Cast Size
2
Genre
comedy,
drama

Mark’s plan to spend a relaxing, solitary day in the sand and sun takes a turn when he randomly meets Sydney, another single American beach-goer on a French nude beach. All pretenses are stripped away as Sydney and Mark expose their own reasons for vacationing alone, baring the traumatic events that have brought them both to this chance encounter.

Mark’s plan to spend a relaxing, solitary day in the sand and sun takes a turn when he randomly meets Sydney, another single American beach-goer on a French nude beach. All pretenses are stripped away as Sydney and Mark expose their own reasons for vacationing alone, baring the traumatic events that have brought them both to this chance encounter.