Jillian Leff

Jillian Leff

Jillian Leff is a Chicago based playwright, actor, and fight choreographer whose plays have been produced in Chicago, Los Angeles, Florida, and Indiana. Her play THE S PARADOX was the winner of Babes With Blades Joining Sword & Pen Competition/Margaret W. Martin Award, and the world premiere of SMALL WORLD (co-written with Joe Lino) was a Jeff Award Nominee for New Work. She is an Ensemble Member/Literary...
Jillian Leff is a Chicago based playwright, actor, and fight choreographer whose plays have been produced in Chicago, Los Angeles, Florida, and Indiana. Her play THE S PARADOX was the winner of Babes With Blades Joining Sword & Pen Competition/Margaret W. Martin Award, and the world premiere of SMALL WORLD (co-written with Joe Lino) was a Jeff Award Nominee for New Work. She is an Ensemble Member/Literary Manager of BWBTC, has a BFA in Acting from Ball State University, and is an Advanced Actor Combatant with The Society of American Fight Directors. Find her on the internet @jilleleff.

Plays

  • The S Paradox by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    9–12
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    Genre: adventure, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: sci-fi, time travel + 8 more
    Genre: adventure, drama, mystery/thriller, science fiction
    Keyword: sci-fi, time travel, bootstrap paradox, LGBTQ, Relationships, queer relationships, friendship, love, death, women
    FULL LENGTH - Winner of Babes With Blades Theatre Company's 2022 Joining Sword & Pen Competition - The S Paradox is set in a future where the United States has undergone sweeping reform: guns are banned, healthcare is free, and numerous economic bills have shrunk the class divide. Sloane (first name Bridget, but don't call her that) is a young woman who has been tapped to join the CRC, a watchdog...
    FULL LENGTH - Winner of Babes With Blades Theatre Company's 2022 Joining Sword & Pen Competition - The S Paradox is set in a future where the United States has undergone sweeping reform: guns are banned, healthcare is free, and numerous economic bills have shrunk the class divide. Sloane (first name Bridget, but don't call her that) is a young woman who has been tapped to join the CRC, a watchdog intelligence agency led by the odd, yet charming William Hale. As Sloane triumphantly (and a little drunkenly), leaves a warehouse after signing her contract, she is stopped by a mysterious woman who says she has come back in time to stop Sloane from making the biggest mistake of her life. This time travelling sci-fi adventure shows how one person hopes to make positive change, despite the mistakes of her past…and her future.
  • Small World - co-written with Joe Lino by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
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    Keyword: Disney, Disney World + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: Disney, Disney World, Small World, absurdism, stage combat, death, blood, friendship, LGBTQ, comedy
    FULL LENGTH - 2020 Jeff Award for New Work Nominee - It’s the end of the world…maybe? There’s no way to confirm for three cast members trapped inside their attraction at the happiest place on earth. The music won’t stop, there’s a body in the moat and one of the group is impaled under a brightly colored set piece. Can they force their way off the ride? And what waits for them on the other side? It’s a world of...
    FULL LENGTH - 2020 Jeff Award for New Work Nominee - It’s the end of the world…maybe? There’s no way to confirm for three cast members trapped inside their attraction at the happiest place on earth. The music won’t stop, there’s a body in the moat and one of the group is impaled under a brightly colored set piece. Can they force their way off the ride? And what waits for them on the other side? It’s a world of hopes, it’s a world of fears. It’s a small world, after all.
  • Missed Opportunities by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, farce + 2 more
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    Keyword: mistaken identity, sexual identity + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, farce, parody/spoof, romantic comedy
    Keyword: mistaken identity, sexual identity, LGBTQ, Farce, modern farce, queer, identity, women, love, Relationships
    FULL LENGTH - Missed Opportunities is a queer millennial update of the "mistaken identity comedy", (Think
    Parent Trap, While You Were Sleeping, Every Shakespearean comedy ever). Maxine (Max for short) is a writer who runs into Nate - the "one that got away" only to find out that he assumed she was a lesbian the whole time. Nate's roommate Jenna hatches a plan to fake date Max so...
    FULL LENGTH - Missed Opportunities is a queer millennial update of the "mistaken identity comedy", (Think
    Parent Trap, While You Were Sleeping, Every Shakespearean comedy ever). Maxine (Max for short) is a writer who runs into Nate - the "one that got away" only to find out that he assumed she was a lesbian the whole time. Nate's roommate Jenna hatches a plan to fake date Max so Nate can remember how awesome she is, Max's gay best friend/roommate Adam wants to help, chaos naturally ensues. Missed Opportunities examines the one thing those stories never do - the
    consequences. (Don't worry, it's still a comedy.)
  • (Non)Fiction by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Relationships, Cults + 7 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Relationships, Cults, artist, choice, love, family, LGBTQ, women, Relationships
    FULL LENGTH - Stephanie and Mike are a couple who think they have it figured out. He's an accountant moving up in his firm, and she is an aspiring writer who has recently quit her day job to pursue writing full time. Mike wants to help with her novel in any and every way he can. But Stephanie won't let him read a single page of her rough draft- she wants to keep it a surprise. After a year of writing...
    FULL LENGTH - Stephanie and Mike are a couple who think they have it figured out. He's an accountant moving up in his firm, and she is an aspiring writer who has recently quit her day job to pursue writing full time. Mike wants to help with her novel in any and every way he can. But Stephanie won't let him read a single page of her rough draft- she wants to keep it a surprise. After a year of writing, submitting, edits and dealing with her new agent, Dan, the book is finally ready to be published. Mike excitedly reads it only to find out it's about his childhood growing up and eventually escaping from a cult. As the buzz for Stephanie's book grows, so does the danger of Mike's past finally coming back for him.
    (NON)FICTION examines the line between fact and fiction. When does an artist have a right to a story? And ultimately, who does the story belong to- the person who tells it or the person who lived it?
  • The Mark by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    9–20
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    Genre: drama, political + 1 more
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    Keyword: stage combat, uprising + 8 more
    Genre: drama, political, science fiction
    Keyword: stage combat, uprising, Rebellion, post-apocalyptic, YA novel, murder, death, blood, Fathers and Daughters, mother and daughter
    FULL LENGTH - IN DEVELOPMENT - THE MARK takes place in City Center 3, a dystopian city made up of two classes: The Army, who are the leaders and protectors, and the Laborers, everyone else. The Army is run by a woman in her 40s and members are delineated by the mark on their face - a red line down the their forehead that divides over the eyes. Raina, a young laborer who works in a bakery with her dad, is going...
    FULL LENGTH - IN DEVELOPMENT - THE MARK takes place in City Center 3, a dystopian city made up of two classes: The Army, who are the leaders and protectors, and the Laborers, everyone else. The Army is run by a woman in her 40s and members are delineated by the mark on their face - a red line down the their forehead that divides over the eyes. Raina, a young laborer who works in a bakery with her dad, is going through the mandatory selection to get into The Army. She fails, but is offered a position as The Commander's assistant. As Rains starts to acclimate to her new position and higher standing in society, a resistance is brewing against The Army. An assassination attempt upends Raina's life as she finds out that The Commander is the mother she never knew and that the leader of the resistance is her father-who she thought she knew. Raina is then torn between her two parents, the two classes, and her own battle of discovering who and what she believes in.
  • Shadows of Truth by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: friendship, lies + 7 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: friendship, lies, Relationships, religion, coming out, LGBTQ, family, love, women
    FULL LENGTH - IN DEVELOPMENT - Katie and Evey are best friends that run a small, religious, charter school in Sugarland, TX. After getting in trouble one day, Mary, a problem student who is also a major donor's daughter, accuses Katie and Evey of being in a secret lesbian relationship. The fallout leaves Katie and Evey with no one left but each other, and wondering whether there might be hidden truths...
    FULL LENGTH - IN DEVELOPMENT - Katie and Evey are best friends that run a small, religious, charter school in Sugarland, TX. After getting in trouble one day, Mary, a problem student who is also a major donor's daughter, accuses Katie and Evey of being in a secret lesbian relationship. The fallout leaves Katie and Evey with no one left but each other, and wondering whether there might be hidden truths about their friendship that they've never considered. Drawing inspiration from Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour," , the play explores how far LGBTQ+ liberation has come, while at the same time still feeling like we are still trapped in the 1930s.
  • Real Talk by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: girls night out, wine
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: girls night out, wine
    TEN MINUTE - 2015 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting Contest Finalist - Real Talk takes place during one of Annie and Becca’s “girls nights.” You know, the typical drink wine, read Cosmo, and complain about being sexually frustrated kind of girls night. Until Annie has a brilliant idea – they can just make out with each other! It would get out all of that sexual frustration without having to...
    TEN MINUTE - 2015 City Theatre National Award for Short Playwriting Contest Finalist - Real Talk takes place during one of Annie and Becca’s “girls nights.” You know, the typical drink wine, read Cosmo, and complain about being sexually frustrated kind of girls night. Until Annie has a brilliant idea – they can just make out with each other! It would get out all of that sexual frustration without having to worry about falling in love with each other because they are two straight women...right?
  • Forgetting by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: adaptation, drama + 1 more
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    Keyword: Pirandello, mountain giants + 6 more
    Genre: adaptation, drama, fable/folktale
    Keyword: Pirandello, mountain giants, purgatory, ghosts, spirits, ghost story, suicide, death
    TEN MINUTE - A man wakes up alone not knowing where he is, who he's with, and why he's there. One thing is for certain though - he's dead.

    Developed for Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble's "Six Authors in Search of a Character" festival, where each playwright had to use Luigi Pirandello's unfinished play THE MOUNTAIN GIANTS as inspiration to answer the question...
    TEN MINUTE - A man wakes up alone not knowing where he is, who he's with, and why he's there. One thing is for certain though - he's dead.

    Developed for Ghostlight Theatre Ensemble's "Six Authors in Search of a Character" festival, where each playwright had to use Luigi Pirandello's unfinished play THE MOUNTAIN GIANTS as inspiration to answer the question "Who are the mountain giants?"
  • Ms. Chapman by Jillian Leff
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: horror, mystery/thriller
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    Keyword: time travel, death + 2 more
    Genre: horror, mystery/thriller
    Keyword: time travel, death, suicide, journalists
    TEN MINUTE - Dana Chapman is working a shift in an empty dive bar, avoiding writers block and her ex. When a stranger walks in claiming to be from the future, Dana is forced to make a decision that not only affects her future, but the future of humanity.
  • All I Really Want by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: west point, military + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: west point, military, mother and daughter
    TEN MINUTE - A first-year cadet at West Point decides to share some unexpected news with a military veteran - who also happens to be her mother.

    Developed for Broken Nose Theatre's Bechdel Fest 7: Momentum.
  • The Mother Load by Jillian Leff
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, immersive + 3 more
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    Keyword: Greek mythology, stage combat + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, immersive, movement/physical, parody/spoof, period
    Keyword: Greek mythology, stage combat, improv
    TEN MINUTE - Four of Greece's greatest warriors are chosen by the goddess Athena to compete in a little friendly competition - where themselves and the winner's mother win immortality and join the ranks of the gods. However, Athena is not the judge, the audience is!