Jessica Moss

Jessica Moss

Jessica Moss is a performer, writer, and producer from Toronto, Canada. She is a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Program at The Juilliard School. She is the creator/performer of solo shows 'Modern Love' (Next Stage Festival, Toronto), and 'Polly Polly' (Theatre Mischief at Toronto and Edmonton Fringe; Patron’s Pick, Best of Fringe, Ed Mirvish Award for Entrepreneurship). She...
Jessica Moss is a performer, writer, and producer from Toronto, Canada. She is a graduate of the Lila Acheson Wallace Playwriting Program at The Juilliard School. She is the creator/performer of solo shows 'Modern Love' (Next Stage Festival, Toronto), and 'Polly Polly' (Theatre Mischief at Toronto and Edmonton Fringe; Patron’s Pick, Best of Fringe, Ed Mirvish Award for Entrepreneurship). She is a contributing writer/performer to the collectively created 'Swoon!' (Toronto Fringe) and 'TEASE' (Crows’ Theatre East End Performance Crawl). Her full-length plays include 'Next to Him' (RBC Tarragon Emerging Playwrights Contest Shortlist, Second Prize in Herman Voaden National Playwriting Competition, Finalist for Tangent Theatre Tivoli’s NEWvember, Finalist for the SafeWord Theatre New Play Contest), 'I Will Miss You When You’re Gone', and 'Cam Baby' (Toronto Fringe New Play Contest Winner 2015). She has been nominated for a Canadian Comedy award, and the Tom Hendry Emerging Playwright Competition. Her work has been presented at the Canadian Stage Festival for Ideas and Creation, the Toronto International Film Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille, Tarragon Theatre, and elsewhere.

As an actor, Jessica has appeared with the National Arts Centre, Tarragon Theatre, Necessary Angel/LuminaTO Festival, SummerWorks, Sudbury Theatre Centre, Young People’s Theatre, and many times at the Toronto Fringe. She produces her work with her company, Theatre Mischief.

Plays

  • Cam Baby by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 18
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    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: ensemble, privacy + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: ensemble, privacy, identity, feminism, lookism, consent, webcamming, airbnb
    CAM BABY. COMEDY. 90 MIN. 4M, 2F. Matabang and Joseph secretly web-cam girls who rent a room in Joseph’s apartment, and share the footage with the Brobonic Union, their secret society of friends. Joseph’s having moral misgivings, but can’t bring himself to possibly lose the friendship of Matabang. When he rents a room to Clara, who fails to live up to their beauty standards, the operation is in jeopardy: until...
    CAM BABY. COMEDY. 90 MIN. 4M, 2F. Matabang and Joseph secretly web-cam girls who rent a room in Joseph’s apartment, and share the footage with the Brobonic Union, their secret society of friends. Joseph’s having moral misgivings, but can’t bring himself to possibly lose the friendship of Matabang. When he rents a room to Clara, who fails to live up to their beauty standards, the operation is in jeopardy: until Clara starts dating Tim and suddenly everyone wants to watch. Touching on issues of privacy, consent, identity, lookism, and the value of women, ‘Cam Baby’ is a fast-paced ensemble comedy about the selves we create and the stories we watch
  • A Girl Lives Alone by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 5 more
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    Keyword: murder, New York + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, experimental, fantasy, horror, mystery/thriller, radio drama
    Keyword: murder, New York, Hitchcock, radio, film noir, foley
    A GIRL LIVES ALONE. COMEDY DRAMA WITH FOLEYING. 110 MIN. 5F, 3M.
    Marion moves to New York in the wake of a break-up and a murder takes place in her walk-up apartment building. As her life starts to feel like she's trapped in a Hitchcock movie, or maybe a TV show were young girls get killed every week, Marion can't stop listening to the old-timey suspense podcasts her ex made; and the lives of...
    A GIRL LIVES ALONE. COMEDY DRAMA WITH FOLEYING. 110 MIN. 5F, 3M.
    Marion moves to New York in the wake of a break-up and a murder takes place in her walk-up apartment building. As her life starts to feel like she's trapped in a Hitchcock movie, or maybe a TV show were young girls get killed every week, Marion can't stop listening to the old-timey suspense podcasts her ex made; and the lives of the other tenants, particularly the foley artist who lives upstairs, start to push in on her walls, making the dangers of being a girl living alone seem more and more prevalent. Does living close to others keep us safe, or put us in danger? And can you keep it down up there?  An ensemble comedy and a mash-up of Hitchcock, radio horror, and Law and Order SVU about murder, fear, and how well you really know your neighbours.
  • We'll Make It Together by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: mental illness, borderline personality disorder + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: mental illness, borderline personality disorder, acting, suicide, LGBTQ, friendship
    WE'LL MAKE IT TOGETHER. COMEDY - DRAMA. 120 MIN. 2M, 2F.
    A theatre artist enlists her best friend to work on a show together, but fears that her career and her relationship will be torn apart by her struggle with mental illness. 
  • I Will Miss You When You're Gone by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: grief, loneliness + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, fantasy
    Keyword: grief, loneliness, women, death, ghosts, magical realism, magic, ensemble
    I WILL MISS YOU WHEN YOU'RE GONE. COMEDY DRAMA. 85 MIN. 4F.
    A lonesome country song about grief and bureaucracy. Celeste tries to contact her dead mother Theresa, but instead is haunted by Evelyn. Evelyn jumped off the top of her office building, run by Robin. Robin just wants to get these files in order, until the spirit of Theresa shows up. A comedy about sad things for four women and a roomba. 

  • Funnie: The Most Lamentable Comedie of Jane the Foole by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: sexual harassment, comedy + 6 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, period
    Keyword: sexual harassment, comedy, feminist revision, jester, History, 16th Century, Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII
    All Jane wants is to perform comedy. But she is struggling even to get stage time in the court of King Henry VIII, in 1533. Despite the support of her friend Anne Boleyn, Jane can’t break into the boys club of Tudor nightly entertainment – King Henry would rather see acts like Carl the Funny One, who makes wry observations about contemporary life, but who also is known to publicly masturbate. But Carl the Funny...
    All Jane wants is to perform comedy. But she is struggling even to get stage time in the court of King Henry VIII, in 1533. Despite the support of her friend Anne Boleyn, Jane can’t break into the boys club of Tudor nightly entertainment – King Henry would rather see acts like Carl the Funny One, who makes wry observations about contemporary life, but who also is known to publicly masturbate. But Carl the Funny One has a degree of power, and an interest in Jane: which he uses to put her in a humiliating and upsetting situation. When the event goes public, the court is divided, and as Carl makes half-hearted non-apologies, Jane still can’t get onstage – until she and Anne have finally had enough. In a world where you are inherently seen as less-than, what kind of justice is possible? How can you ever be seen as funny when you’re not really seen as a person? Inspired by the very short Wikipedia entry about Jane Foole, or Jane The Foole, the only female court jester ever depicted, and current events.
  • Next to Him by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 4
    ·
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: mental illness, high school + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: mental illness, high school, Therapy, Relationships, secrets
    Next to Him examines the relationships between three people: Ash and Peter, tenth grade students at a private boys’ school in Toronto, and therapist Eva, Ash’s mother. Peter needs help: anyone can see that. He’s aggressive, manipulative, angry; but he’s also a talented actor, funny…special. Both Ash and Eva are drawn to help him in different ways, against their better judgment: Eva secretly becomes Peter’s...
    Next to Him examines the relationships between three people: Ash and Peter, tenth grade students at a private boys’ school in Toronto, and therapist Eva, Ash’s mother. Peter needs help: anyone can see that. He’s aggressive, manipulative, angry; but he’s also a talented actor, funny…special. Both Ash and Eva are drawn to help him in different ways, against their better judgment: Eva secretly becomes Peter’s therapist, while Ash plays a strange and addictive torture game with him in the school locker room. As Peter’s intimacy with both of them grows, the mother and son find themselves moving farther apart from each other. And while they wanted to help, their actions might be dangerous, might be hurtful, to everyone involved. What's help, anyway? And what does it mean to special?
  • i am lonely all year long by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4–23
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 4 more
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    Keyword: collection of plays, depression & anxiety + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, holiday, romantic comedy, young audiences
    Keyword: collection of plays, depression & anxiety, loneliness, seasons
    This is a collection of ten short plays about feeling blue at all times of year. Each play takes place at a different season/holiday/month. Inspired by the fact that I think I have seasonal depression in every season.

    There's a lot of small cast (2-4 people, mostly 2) scenes, that are also good for scene work for classes, and the whole shebang works well for a big cast!

    Fresh...
    This is a collection of ten short plays about feeling blue at all times of year. Each play takes place at a different season/holiday/month. Inspired by the fact that I think I have seasonal depression in every season.

    There's a lot of small cast (2-4 people, mostly 2) scenes, that are also good for scene work for classes, and the whole shebang works well for a big cast!

    Fresh Start - January/ New Year's Eve
    February - February/Valentine's Day
    March Madness - March
    Cruelest Month - April
    Spring Cleaning - Spring
    Heatwave - Summer
    Howl - September/Fall
    Ghostie - October/ Hallowe'en
    Pumpkin Pie - November/ Thanksgiving
    Solstice - December/ Longest night of the Year

  • We'll Circle Back by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 1
    ·
    Cast: 
    2–13
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama + 2 more
    ·
    Keyword: high school, college + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, drama, young audiences, zoom
    Keyword: high school, college, university, pandemic, full-length Zoom play, zoom
    A Zoom play for 13 actors, exploring loneliness and connection. Most scenes are 2-3 characters. Realistic scenes for high school/early university or college-aged actors.

    I feel we may be coming to the end of our time with Zoom plays, but, if you are ever interested in this, it's a very flexible piece, and I'm happy to work with you to fit the play to your group. Characters can be cut,...
    A Zoom play for 13 actors, exploring loneliness and connection. Most scenes are 2-3 characters. Realistic scenes for high school/early university or college-aged actors.

    I feel we may be coming to the end of our time with Zoom plays, but, if you are ever interested in this, it's a very flexible piece, and I'm happy to work with you to fit the play to your group. Characters can be cut, names can be changed to reflect actors, etc.
  • Our Play by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 5
    ·
    Cast: 
    14–20
    ·
    Genre: drama
    ·
    Keyword: high school, school shooting + 7 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: high school, school shooting, large cast, ensemble, Our Town, teenagers, teen issues, school, contemporary realism
    Uh hi.

    Yeah.

    Welcome to...this play that we're doing. Our Town. We're gonna show you some...well, like, I'm just going to show you around our rehearsal. We go up in a month. We're not ready. But here we are.

    (The cast of a high school production of Our Town rehearses).
  • open by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: Relationships, marriage + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama, experimental, romantic comedy
    Keyword: Relationships, marriage, open marriage, bedroom
    OPEN. COMEDY-DRAMA. ONE ACT, 30 MIN. 1M, 1F.

    Late at night, Jeannie asks Alistair if they should have an open marriage. A contemporary comedy-drama about identities inside and outside of relationships.
  • Caleb and Rita by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 8
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: dating, online dating + 4 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: dating, online dating, bar, coffee shop, love, loneliness
    CALEB AND RITA. TEN MINUTE PLAY. COMEDY. 1M, 1F.
    Terri is meeting Caleb. Andrew is meeting Rita. Or they’re supposed to.
    Are you…? Oh, sorry.
    On the internet, and in real life, anyone can be anyone.
  • How Are We Doing? by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    4
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 2 more
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    Keyword: friends, Donald Trump + 8 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, political, satire
    Keyword: friends, Donald Trump, Unity, anxiety, anger, apathy, Depression, current events, 2016 presidential election, accusation
    HOW ARE WE DOING? TEN MINUTE PLAY. COMEDY. 2M, 2F. Four friends deal with how to go on when the world seems to have fallen apart.
  • Square Footage by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 7
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: love, Relationships + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: love, Relationships, growing up
    Nate and Maggie love each other…right?
    So they should move in together…right?
    Was this apartment always that small?
    But Nate and Maggie still love each other….right?
  • Dinner Date by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: love, Relationships + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: love, Relationships, dinner, food
    Two exes. That was the past. We're all adults here. Besides, it's just dinner.
  • P in V by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, drama
    ·
    Keyword: LGBTQ, friendship + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: LGBTQ, friendship, baby, pregnancy, Sex
    P IN V. TEN MINUTE PLAY. COMEDY-DRAMA. 1M, 1F.

    Two best friends discuss heterosexual love making. Gross.
  • Break In by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: robbery, romantic comedy + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: robbery, romantic comedy, Depression, loneliness, anger, crime
    BREAK IN. TEN MINUTE PLAY. COMEDY. 1M, 1F.

    Teddy has broken in to Roberta's house. It was not the night to break into Roberta's house.
  • Kinsey by Jessica Moss
    Recommendations: 3
    ·
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy + 1 more
    ·
    Keyword: teenagers, sexuality + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: teenagers, sexuality, grief, anger, girls, female
    KINSEY. MONOLOGUE. COMEDY/DRAMA. 4 MIN. 1F.
    Kinsey is 14 and today sucks.
  • Stay Golden by Jessica Moss
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    ·
    Keyword: Golden Girls, retirement + 5 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: Golden Girls, retirement, murder, florida, comedy, good role for senior citizen, senior citizens
    A group of women are determined to make their dreams a reality. And they're not about to let Cleo's husband stand in their way.
  • Heatwave by Jessica Moss
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    ·
    Keyword: summer, heatwave + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, romantic comedy
    Keyword: summer, heatwave, simple set, small cast, relationship, romantic comedy
    It's too hot.
    It's too hot to live.
    It's too hot to love.
    So what hope do Jackson and Moira have?