Jason Karasev

Jason is an American-Ukranian playwright and Psychotherapist, whose work has been seen in many capacities. As a writer, Jason’s play Death House recently finished an extended, Ovation Recommended world premiere run at The Road Theatre, Los Angeles. The play was the winner of the 2018 Playwrights First Competition, a 2016 Sundance Lab semi-finalist, an 85th Annual Writers Digest Competition Winner, a selection for The Road Theatre’s Summer Playwrights Festival, a selection for The Blank Theatre Living Room Series, and a semi-finalist for both the Detroit New Works Festival and The Baltic Writing residency, and was short-listed for the Theatre 503 Award, in the UK . Other work includes: White Nights (2018 O’Neill Semi-Finalist); Buttercup Park (Little Fish Theatre semi-finalist and seen at...

Jason is an American-Ukranian playwright and Psychotherapist, whose work has been seen in many capacities. As a writer, Jason’s play Death House recently finished an extended, Ovation Recommended world premiere run at The Road Theatre, Los Angeles. The play was the winner of the 2018 Playwrights First Competition, a 2016 Sundance Lab semi-finalist, an 85th Annual Writers Digest Competition Winner, a selection for The Road Theatre’s Summer Playwrights Festival, a selection for The Blank Theatre Living Room Series, and a semi-finalist for both the Detroit New Works Festival and The Baltic Writing residency, and was short-listed for the Theatre 503 Award, in the UK . Other work includes: White Nights (2018 O’Neill Semi-Finalist); Buttercup Park (Little Fish Theatre semi-finalist and seen at Chicago Dramatists); TV pilots In The Red and Improvise. As a performer his work has been seen at The Steppenwolf Theatre Company, The Sundance Theatre Lab, Victory Gardens, The Fountain Theatre, the CW, Disney, ABC, and MTV. Jason is a National Scholar in the Arts (NFAA) and a proud graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul and Antioch University. Currently, Jason practices Psychotherapy in the greater Los Angeles area, with a primary focus on children, trauma, and gender/sexuality.

Scripts

Attachment

by Jason Karasev

Synopsis

When a Father and Son trip into the woods reveals itself to be much more than a Birthday retreat, it soon becomes evident that things are not what they appear to be. Attachment is a provocative exploration of the ties that bind us, and what it means to be family.
* Second Rounder of the Austin Film Festival 2024

When a Father and Son trip into the woods reveals itself to be much more than a Birthday retreat, it soon becomes evident that things are not what they appear to be. Attachment is a provocative exploration of the ties that bind us, and what it means to be family.
* Second Rounder of the Austin Film Festival 2024

Buttercup Park

by Jason Karasev

Synopsis

The death of a family matriarch reunites old friends, resurrecting wounds of the past and shedding light on the future.

The death of a family matriarch reunites old friends, resurrecting wounds of the past and shedding light on the future.

Death House

by Jason Karasev

Synopsis

On the night a death-house chaplain must hand over the reins to the confident young pastor set to replace him, the men encounter an enigmatic inmate who challenges their convictions and changes their lives forever. More than an examination of a system, Death House is a startling new piece of theatre that explores justice, redemption, and the possibility that we’re all more connected than we may want to admit....

On the night a death-house chaplain must hand over the reins to the confident young pastor set to replace him, the men encounter an enigmatic inmate who challenges their convictions and changes their lives forever. More than an examination of a system, Death House is a startling new piece of theatre that explores justice, redemption, and the possibility that we’re all more connected than we may want to admit.

Reviews:

"The Road has a reputation for scouting out worthy new works, and Jason Karasev’s thoughtful play is certainly no exception. "
-LA Times

"Karasev’s script is tight and weighty...It all adds up to a shattering experience and though there are no easy answers or happy endings, it’s a journey you’ll be glad you took."
-Arts in LA

"Written by skilled playwright Jason Karasev, DEATH HOUSE is a play you don’t want to miss. Gripping, poignant, exciting, enigmatic, intriguing, startling, fascinating. All of these descriptors and more mark the Road Theatre on Lankershim’s latest must-see production."
- LA Splash Magazine

White Nights

by Jason Karasev

Synopsis

WHITE NIGHTS follows first-generation American Maxim Ranevsky over 25 years as he grapples with the weight of his family's past, in order to forge his future. Infused with music, surreal elements, and Russian language, the play explores the immigrant struggle to assimilate, what it means to be a Ukrainian-Russian in today’s socio-political climate, and the burden of our forefathers’ expectations. Semi...

WHITE NIGHTS follows first-generation American Maxim Ranevsky over 25 years as he grapples with the weight of his family's past, in order to forge his future. Infused with music, surreal elements, and Russian language, the play explores the immigrant struggle to assimilate, what it means to be a Ukrainian-Russian in today’s socio-political climate, and the burden of our forefathers’ expectations. Semi-autobiographical and loosely based on Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, WHITE NIGHTS was a 2018 O'Neill Semi-Finalist.