J.C. Pankratz

J.C. Pankratz

J.C. Pankratz (they/them) is an Indiana-raised playwright currently based in Boston. Their work has been seen on stages from Seattle to Connecticut. Their play, REEDEMER MINE, was a finalist for the 2015 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference. JOYLESS EYE, won runner-up for the Jean Kennedy Smith Award at ACTF and was a semi-finalist for the O'Neill in 2014.

Plays

  • Music for Vultures by J.C. Pankratz
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    A mother meets with her son to discuss end-of-life arrangements, and reveals her plans have much to do with her pet turkey vulture.
  • Redeemer Mine by J.C. Pankratz
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    4–5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama + 3 more
    ·
    Keyword: Sisters, Cults + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, drama, horror, mystery/thriller, tragedy
    Keyword: Sisters, Cults, religion, ghosts, family, dark comedy
    Gloria returns home after her sister is caught cremating their mother, the prophet of the local small-town doomsday cult, in the backyard of their Wyoming farmhouse. Gloria must sift through the mess, reconnect with her sister, and figure out just where the rest of the family went. 2015 O'Neill National Playwrights Conference Finalist.
  • Joyless Eye by J.C. Pankratz
    Cast: 
    5–7
    ·
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: Moon Landing, Vietnam War + 5 more
    Genre: docudrama/historic, drama, period, science fiction
    Keyword: Moon Landing, Vietnam War, PTSD, romance, alternate universes, ghost, astronomy
    Set in an alternate history where the ’69 lunar landing fails, “Joyless Eye” follows ex-VA nurse Myra Ann Combs as she tends a lingering obsession with the moon and struggles with homelessness, unemployment, PTSD, and a girlfriend who is quickly losing her patience. Help comes in the form of the spirit of comet astronomer Caroline Herschel, who appears in Myra Ann’s motel room with simple, inspired purpose: to...
    Set in an alternate history where the ’69 lunar landing fails, “Joyless Eye” follows ex-VA nurse Myra Ann Combs as she tends a lingering obsession with the moon and struggles with homelessness, unemployment, PTSD, and a girlfriend who is quickly losing her patience. Help comes in the form of the spirit of comet astronomer Caroline Herschel, who appears in Myra Ann’s motel room with simple, inspired purpose: to build a telescope. But the more time and energy Myra Ann spends pursuing the moon, the harder her memories pull her back into the past, loosening her grip on reality and causing her to confront, at the end of all things, why she must continue to build.
  • Honest to God by J.C. Pankratz
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, science fiction
    ·
    Keyword: magical realism
    Genre: dark comedy, science fiction
    Keyword: magical realism
    Nina returns to her old town of Altoona, Iowa after her mother dies and leaves Nina her childhood home. One night, she wakes to a fire in the backyard that won’t go out: a burning bush of biblical proportions. As Altoona slowly learns of this phenomenon, townspeople shack up on Nina’s property, waiting for the next sign from God. Nina, growing more and more claustrophobic, must face her own issues left long...
    Nina returns to her old town of Altoona, Iowa after her mother dies and leaves Nina her childhood home. One night, she wakes to a fire in the backyard that won’t go out: a burning bush of biblical proportions. As Altoona slowly learns of this phenomenon, townspeople shack up on Nina’s property, waiting for the next sign from God. Nina, growing more and more claustrophobic, must face her own issues left long dormant in this little town.