Jake Alexander

Jake Alexander

Jake Alexander is CT-born playwright and theatre artist. He has participated in the BOOST Mentorship Program with Off the Lane Co., Foster’s Artistic Residency “Cultivating Curiosity”, and the Script Share program with The Playwright’s Realm. Jake’s work has been produced by Equity Library Theatre, Christopher Newport University, Soop Theatre Co., the Player's Theatre of the West Village, Jakespeare...
Jake Alexander is CT-born playwright and theatre artist. He has participated in the BOOST Mentorship Program with Off the Lane Co., Foster’s Artistic Residency “Cultivating Curiosity”, and the Script Share program with The Playwright’s Realm. Jake’s work has been produced by Equity Library Theatre, Christopher Newport University, Soop Theatre Co., the Player's Theatre of the West Village, Jakespeare Virtual Theatre Co., NY Theatre Festival, Chestnut Street Playhouse, and Broward College. Jake has been published in Qu Literary Magazine. Jake's solo-show, Knock It Off, I Love You, which he wrote and performed, was selected as part of the NY Theatre Festival Summerfest in June 2022. He is a 2014 graduate of Boston College and works in the School of Journalism at NYU. Jake currently resides with his girlfriend and cat, who he is training to speak (unsuccessful at this point).

Plays

  • Knock It Off, I Love You by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: experimental
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    Keyword: growing up, one-man show + 1 more
    Genre: experimental
    Keyword: growing up, one-man show, fatherhood
    An autobiographical account of the worst fight i've ever gotten into with my father. Chronicling growing up, capitalism, and the many things i've learned from my father, "Knock It Off, I Love You" is about story-telling, sandwiches, and the different ways we say "I Love You".
  • Why Our Dads Need Therapy by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    12
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    Genre: biography, comedy + 1 more
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    Keyword: Dads, children + 2 more
    Genre: biography, comedy, dark comedy
    Keyword: Dads, children, Therapy, Relationships
    What would you say to your Dad if only your therapist was listening? Based on personal interviews and told through a series of vignettes, memories, psychological analyses, and multi-media presentations, Why Our Dads Need Therapy explores a generation of Dads who won't talk about their feelings, and the influences that made them that way. As their children explore the patterns and absolute anomalies of...
    What would you say to your Dad if only your therapist was listening? Based on personal interviews and told through a series of vignettes, memories, psychological analyses, and multi-media presentations, Why Our Dads Need Therapy explores a generation of Dads who won't talk about their feelings, and the influences that made them that way. As their children explore the patterns and absolute anomalies of their relationships to their fathers, what starts as a way to cope becomes a devastating conversation on what we need most from our Dads, and what they simply can't give us.
  • Dirty Dirty by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: death, suicide + 3 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: death, suicide, mortality, love, Birthdays
    What's the worst birthday a person can experience? Five friends go away for Sam's 30th, and what starts as a normal weekend trip, becomes a question of mortality and the choices we get to make at all. When Sam tells his friends he's terminal, and asks one of them to make the killing blow, everyone is forced to reconcile with how much they mean to one another, and whether we get to choose how we...
    What's the worst birthday a person can experience? Five friends go away for Sam's 30th, and what starts as a normal weekend trip, becomes a question of mortality and the choices we get to make at all. When Sam tells his friends he's terminal, and asks one of them to make the killing blow, everyone is forced to reconcile with how much they mean to one another, and whether we get to choose how we exit this life. Exploring suicide, love, and Hygge, Dirty Dirty is about the dirty thirty.
  • Do You Ever Think about How We Grew Up In Hell? or, A Painfully True Expose on the Life and Times of Becky Most, Reality-TV Star and Heiress by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: dark comedy, satire
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    Keyword: reality-TV, motherhood + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy, satire
    Keyword: reality-TV, motherhood, children, childhood trauma
    *Real-Housewives entrance music plays* "I may not be a real heiress, but my kids will inherit my world". Four children return home for a prime-time interview on the ten-year anniversary of their mother's death, Becky Most, Reality-TV star of "Making the Most of It". Becky lived the largest life in NYC, but at what cost? As her children recall their mother's life and their...
    *Real-Housewives entrance music plays* "I may not be a real heiress, but my kids will inherit my world". Four children return home for a prime-time interview on the ten-year anniversary of their mother's death, Becky Most, Reality-TV star of "Making the Most of It". Becky lived the largest life in NYC, but at what cost? As her children recall their mother's life and their experiences in the limelight, past traumas and dramatic relationships come to the forefront. As the memories roll with the cameras, the four kids are forced to reconcile with how real their mother actually was, and how to move forward from a childhood that was produced, edited, and promoted for an audience.
  • MOUNTAIN by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    6
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: masculinity, Brother-Sister Relationships + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: masculinity, Brother-Sister Relationships, estranged family reunion, nature, competition, Sex
    An estranged brother-sister relationship, and one night that changed their lives forever. When Allie's brother David comes into town after being missing for several years, what starts as a quiet night with friends becomes an all-out brawl over manhood and owning up to your mistakes. Exploring themes of masculinity (both toxic and healthy), competition, and how we face the natural world, MOUNTAIN is about...
    An estranged brother-sister relationship, and one night that changed their lives forever. When Allie's brother David comes into town after being missing for several years, what starts as a quiet night with friends becomes an all-out brawl over manhood and owning up to your mistakes. Exploring themes of masculinity (both toxic and healthy), competition, and how we face the natural world, MOUNTAIN is about confronting our challenges, and whether we survive on the other side.
  • If You Didn't Put It There, Don't Touch It by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    5
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, faith-based + 1 more
    Genre: dark comedy, faith-based, horror
    A disappearance, four suspects, and a metaphysical shop. When Molly Clarkson, owner and manger of "Spot of Newt, Cauldrons Bubble" Metaphysical and Wiccan-Supply Shop, goes missing, the detective from the state police precinct interrogates the three employees and one sandwich-eater who saw her last. As the afternoon turns to evening, and the question about where Molly is and who would want her gone...
    A disappearance, four suspects, and a metaphysical shop. When Molly Clarkson, owner and manger of "Spot of Newt, Cauldrons Bubble" Metaphysical and Wiccan-Supply Shop, goes missing, the detective from the state police precinct interrogates the three employees and one sandwich-eater who saw her last. As the afternoon turns to evening, and the question about where Molly is and who would want her gone goes unanswered, all are forced to face with what they know about each other, and whether we can believe the simple explanations at all. Exploring motive, opportunity, and the occult, If You Didn't Put It There, Don't Touch It is a site-specific production about the super-natural, the mystical, and the unexplainable.
  • Outside the Tent by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: haunting, sexual assault + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: haunting, sexual assault, ghosts, belief
    After a weekend-camping trip upstate, a young couple struggles to explain a paranormal experience, and whether what they saw outside their tent was real or trick of the mind. When the haunting becomes more and more real, Taylor and Brian are forced to confront traumatic parts of their past, and bring in a spiritual medium to advise them. As the lights begin to flicker, everyone questions their belief, trust,...
    After a weekend-camping trip upstate, a young couple struggles to explain a paranormal experience, and whether what they saw outside their tent was real or trick of the mind. When the haunting becomes more and more real, Taylor and Brian are forced to confront traumatic parts of their past, and bring in a spiritual medium to advise them. As the lights begin to flicker, everyone questions their belief, trust, and whether they are responsible for the ghosts that haunt them.
  • The Loon Cries at Night by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: dark comedy, tragedy
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    Keyword: death, family + 4 more
    Genre: dark comedy, tragedy
    Keyword: death, family, beach, birds, nature, terminal disease
    Three months after the loss of her husband, June agrees to sit and stay with her former Grandfather-in-law, CJ, a ninety-something-terminal-patient who always speaks his mind, for one night. Stuck in close quarters, and with nothing to do but watch the waves and birds of Noyak Bay, their relationship is tested in unintentional and irreversible ways. Exploring death and love, The Loon Cries at Night is about who...
    Three months after the loss of her husband, June agrees to sit and stay with her former Grandfather-in-law, CJ, a ninety-something-terminal-patient who always speaks his mind, for one night. Stuck in close quarters, and with nothing to do but watch the waves and birds of Noyak Bay, their relationship is tested in unintentional and irreversible ways. Exploring death and love, The Loon Cries at Night is about who takes care of us, how we define family, and how we face facts.
  • Don't Bother by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: Race, writing + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: Race, writing, creative writing, Relationships, craft
    Who are we writing for, and when do we get to decide that? Sam is a creative-writing student at a prestigious university, until he writes something he shouldn't. When he's called before the Academic Board to defend what he wrote, he struggles to understand what he did wrong, and how he can make it better. To make matters worse, Aaliyah comes into his life unexpectedly, and their relationship is...
    Who are we writing for, and when do we get to decide that? Sam is a creative-writing student at a prestigious university, until he writes something he shouldn't. When he's called before the Academic Board to defend what he wrote, he struggles to understand what he did wrong, and how he can make it better. To make matters worse, Aaliyah comes into his life unexpectedly, and their relationship is challenged in ways they didn't expect. Exploring race, intentions, and Matthew Salesses' "Craft in the Real World", Don't Bother is about who gets to make what Art, and who's listening along the way.
  • 5 Year Plan by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: New York City, dreams + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: New York City, dreams, future, plans
    When his best friend Roger considers leaving the city, and pursuit of the arts, for a new relationship, Theo begins to unravel. As his world shifts around him, Theo has to face his own struggle with the future, a relationship that won’t grow, and his "best laid plans". 5 YEAR PLAN explores the dreams we wanted for ourselves at one time, and the way life shapes or destroys them along the way.
  • Any Other Day by Jake Alexander
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: marriage, weddings + 2 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: marriage, weddings, strangers, family
    On a seemingly normal weekend in the fall, Chris runs away from Boston to his hometown looking for clarity and peace. What he finds instead is Bailey: his parent's new next-door neighbor, whose wedding it taking place later that day. As a hurricane barrels down towards the ceremony, driveways are crossed and champagne is shared, leaving all involved to consider what we remember about the "big days...
    On a seemingly normal weekend in the fall, Chris runs away from Boston to his hometown looking for clarity and peace. What he finds instead is Bailey: his parent's new next-door neighbor, whose wedding it taking place later that day. As a hurricane barrels down towards the ceremony, driveways are crossed and champagne is shared, leaving all involved to consider what we remember about the "big days" in our lives, and whether they live up to those expectations at all. Exploring love, marriage, and perfect strangers, ANY OTHER DAY is about who we meet and when, and how our lives change, if at all.
  • The Courtship of Bullfrogs by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    9
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: family drama, wedding
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: family drama, wedding
    On the eve of a big wedding, an shoreline Connecticut family looks back on their life, and the love that got them to that moment. As the evening darkens, and the pair of bullfrogs fill the night with their courting, John turns to his past to explain the choices that are being made, and the consequences they face as a family. A semi-autobiographical account of the playwright's own family, The Courtship of...
    On the eve of a big wedding, an shoreline Connecticut family looks back on their life, and the love that got them to that moment. As the evening darkens, and the pair of bullfrogs fill the night with their courting, John turns to his past to explain the choices that are being made, and the consequences they face as a family. A semi-autobiographical account of the playwright's own family, The Courtship of Bullfrogs explores the history that we share with one another, and whether the ties that bind really keep us together.
  • Emergency Contact by Jake Alexander
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    3
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: medical, Relationships + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: medical, Relationships, contact
    A young couple heads to the ER after one of them has broken their ankle, and what starts as a routine trip to get better, becomes an examination they hadn't expected. As Julian and Bryce start filling out the paper work, and Bryce suggests putting her mother as her Emergency Contact rather than Julian, they are forced to reconcile with where they are in their relationship, how they got there, and what...
    A young couple heads to the ER after one of them has broken their ankle, and what starts as a routine trip to get better, becomes an examination they hadn't expected. As Julian and Bryce start filling out the paper work, and Bryce suggests putting her mother as her Emergency Contact rather than Julian, they are forced to reconcile with where they are in their relationship, how they got there, and what comes next. This ten-minute explores love, broken bones, and how we define ourselves in relation to others.
  • But Did I Leave the Oven On? by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: disaster, explosions + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: disaster, explosions, family, priorities
    Written during the Corona-Virus Pandemic in March 2020, this ten-minute disaster play tells the story of two strangers, stuck together in crisis, and forced to face their priorities during the time of chaos. As the explosions get closer, Stephen and Nina have to consider the ramifications of communal tragedy, and how to move forward.
  • Rowayton by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    3
    ·
    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: christmas, travel + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: christmas, travel, family
    A short Christmas-play about love light, family, being together, and believing in what we see.
  • It Was, You Know, What It Was by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    Two friends go to see a friend in new play festival, and it sucks. The one-minute play explores new art, bad writing, and lying.
  • Easy Does It by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: love, strangers + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: love, strangers, adult friendship
    What if the person you always thought would be "the one" turned out not to be? Two old "friends" get together to catch up, and underneath the layers of awkwardness and multiple coats, must face what they once meant to each other, and what still remains between them. Exploring, love, loss, and not-so-perfect strangers, Easy Does It is about just how difficult it can be to let go.
  • Thirty-Four Empty Pages by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    2
    ·
    Genre: comedy
    Genre: comedy
    A writer needs to finish a play, but can't. It's not writer's block: it's a time loop. Each night as Stef wraps up a first draft for a new piece, the pages disappear and she starts all over again. As her manager and agent Reg tries to help, the mystery unravels in a way that time won't. Exploring writing, craft, time, and first drafts, Thirty-Four Empty Pages might not have the ending you expect.
  • Forgive Me by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    1
    ·
    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: death, Youtube + 2 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: death, Youtube, choice, medical
    Written as a series of video-posts on a fundraising page, Ben recalls the life he had with his wife Hannah, an avid and popular-vlogger. The mystery of Hannah's medical drama, and the choice Ben made that ultimately ended her life, come center-stage in this one-man play about our relationship to the followers we don't really know, and the guilt we suffer when another life is in our hands.
  • How Can We Make it Funny? by Jake Alexander
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: comedy, writing + 1 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: comedy, writing, close friendship
    Two friends sit down to write a sketch, and....can't figure out to make it funny. As Eugene and Connor explore differing ideas of comedy and attempt to finish the joke, their friendship is unraveled in a way they hadn't expected. This ten-minute piece explores the prat-falls of friendship, the ever-changing world of improv and sketch comedy, and tries to find the right punchline.
  • My Ghost Boyfriend Can Be A Real Dick by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: death, boyfriends + 3 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: death, boyfriends, ghosts, honesty, Relationships
    Is it cheating if one of the parties is a ghost? When Georgie tells Ellie that she had a sexual experience with the ghost of Joe the night before, both girls need to reason with the guy they knew and just how well they knew him. As they both dive into the relationships they had with Joe, and Joe's actions during his time alive, they explore what it means to grieve, how important it is to be honest, and what it means to cheat.
  • Yland by Jake Alexander
    Cast: 
    7
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    Genre: dark comedy
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    Keyword: choice, extinction + 2 more
    Genre: dark comedy
    Keyword: choice, extinction, sisterhood, World without men
    Set in the year 2171, biological Men are extinct as the “y” chromosome has disappeared from the gene-pool. In a deeply divided country, government forces have "mandated" that all women who are able to, must reproduce by the age of 25, in an effort to combat a growing concern of extinction of women. But some rebel groups have encouraged "uploading" as a way to preserve the mind and...
    Set in the year 2171, biological Men are extinct as the “y” chromosome has disappeared from the gene-pool. In a deeply divided country, government forces have "mandated" that all women who are able to, must reproduce by the age of 25, in an effort to combat a growing concern of extinction of women. But some rebel groups have encouraged "uploading" as a way to preserve the mind and consciousness, while disposing of the biological form. After a long school year, six friends go to a remote cabin on a private island in the Ozarks. As the drinking starts, the group is forced to reconcile with what extinction means, the world they live in, and what ideals they choose to uphold. Exploring sisterhood and choice, Yland (pronounced "island") is about what we want for our futures, and what price we are willing to pay to get it.