Jesse Jou

Jesse Jou

Originally from Houston, Texas and based in New York City for many years, Jesse Jou primarily as a freelance theater director of new and contemporary plays. Some of his favorite new play work includes ZEN TIES by Y York (The Rose Theatre, Omaha, NE); SAY YOU HEARD MY ECHO with spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai (HERE); THE BETROTHED by Dipika Guha and NEIGHBORHOOD 3: REQUISITION OF DOOM by Jennifer Haley (...
Originally from Houston, Texas and based in New York City for many years, Jesse Jou primarily as a freelance theater director of new and contemporary plays. Some of his favorite new play work includes ZEN TIES by Y York (The Rose Theatre, Omaha, NE); SAY YOU HEARD MY ECHO with spoken word artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai (HERE); THE BETROTHED by Dipika Guha and NEIGHBORHOOD 3: REQUISITION OF DOOM by Jennifer Haley (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, Cape Cod, MA); THE NETFLIX PLAYS (Ars Nova); ESTRELLA CRUZ: THE JUNKYARD QUEEN by Charise Castro Smith and PASSING by Dipika Guha (Yale Cabaret); 99 WAYS TO F*CK A SWAN by Kim Rosenstock and the things are against us [les choses sont contre nous] by Susan Soon He Stanton (Yale School of Drama). His work has also been seen at the Lark Play Development Center; the New York International Fringe Festival; The Kitchen Theatre Co. (Ithaca, NY); and the Yale Cabaret. He was the Artistic Director of the 2010 Yale Summer Cabaret and served as the Staff Repertory Director of The Acting Company. He is a proud alumnus of the Cherry Lane Mentor Project, Drama League’s Directors Project, the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, and the Civilians' R&D Group. He received his MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama. He is currently on faculty in the School of Theatre & Dance, Texas Tech University.

Recommended by Jesse Jou

  • PASSING (2M, 3W)
    9 Nov. 2018
    From my totally biased perspective as a fan of Dipika's writing, this play wrecks me. She's playing with form and content in ways that are unexpected and powerful: we think the kidnapped indigenous child Matilda is the central character but she vanishes for much of the play, only to make a heartstopping re-entrance. The language is heightened poetry and in the hands of the right actors who can perceive the playable actions underlying the text, it's emotionally legible and unsettling. In 2018, this nonnaturalistic, poetic response to the cultural genocide of removing children from their families resonates.