James Anthony Tyler

James Anthony Tyler

James Anthony Tyler is the recipient of the 3rd Annual Horton Foote Playwriting Award and an inaugural playwright to receive a commission from Audible. His plays include ARTNEY JACKSON (World Premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 2018 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), SOME OLD BLACK MAN (Berkshire Playwrights Lab at St. James Place and 59E59 Theaters), DOLPHINS AND SHARKS (LAByrinth Theater Company and...
James Anthony Tyler is the recipient of the 3rd Annual Horton Foote Playwriting Award and an inaugural playwright to receive a commission from Audible. His plays include ARTNEY JACKSON (World Premiere at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 2018 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award), SOME OLD BLACK MAN (Berkshire Playwrights Lab at St. James Place and 59E59 Theaters), DOLPHINS AND SHARKS (LAByrinth Theater Company and Finborough Theatre in London). He has a MFA in Film from Howard University and a MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University. He is also a graduate of The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, and he recently was the Staff Writer for the new OWN Network show CHERISH THE DAY created by Ava DuVernay.

Plays

  • Dolphins and Sharks by James Anthony Tyler
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: dark comedy, drama
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    Keyword: income inequality, Harlem
    Genre: dark comedy, drama
    Keyword: income inequality, Harlem
    Yusuf studies philosophy. Xiomara is ambitious. Isabel keeps it real. These are the employees of Harlem Office, a neighborhood copy shop, where promotions are rare and raises are even rarer. But when one employee is given the chance to move up, friendships are tested and loyalty turns out to be less valuable than cold hard cash. Soon cutbacks and office politics have everyone fighting to keep their jobs and...
    Yusuf studies philosophy. Xiomara is ambitious. Isabel keeps it real. These are the employees of Harlem Office, a neighborhood copy shop, where promotions are rare and raises are even rarer. But when one employee is given the chance to move up, friendships are tested and loyalty turns out to be less valuable than cold hard cash. Soon cutbacks and office politics have everyone fighting to keep their jobs and their sanity in this searing new play about clocking in, clocking out and rising up.
  • Artney Jackson by James Anthony Tyler
    Recommendations: 2
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    Cast: 
    6
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    Genre: comedy
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    Keyword: workplace, mental illness + 5 more
    Genre: comedy
    Keyword: workplace, mental illness, fathers and sons, immigration, social class, education biases, health insurance
    Artney Jackson is a devoted mentor, a respected employee at the local cable company, and an enthusiastic teller of “dad jokes.” After twenty-five years, he is finally up for promotion, and he can almost taste the possibility of becoming a manager. Over the course of one week, Artney’s decades-old routine is shattered when his son makes plans to move out of their home, the higher-ups test his resolve to lead,...
    Artney Jackson is a devoted mentor, a respected employee at the local cable company, and an enthusiastic teller of “dad jokes.” After twenty-five years, he is finally up for promotion, and he can almost taste the possibility of becoming a manager. Over the course of one week, Artney’s decades-old routine is shattered when his son makes plans to move out of their home, the higher-ups test his resolve to lead, and co-workers show their true colors. Will Artney Jackson overcome the turmoil and rise up? A funny and touching play that examines what it means to give it your all at the office!
  • Some Old Black Man by James Anthony Tyler
    Cast: 
    2
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: Race, fathers and sons + 1 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Race, fathers and sons, african american history
    When College Professor, Calvin Jones, moves his 82-year-old doggedly independent, blue collar, ailing, southern father, Donald Jones, from Greenwald, Mississippi into his Harlem penthouse, an argument over what to eat for breakfast turns into a generational clash over race, opportunity, and a decision that Calvin made years ago.
  • Pranayama by James Anthony Tyler
    Cast: 
    10
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    Genre: drama, movement/physical + 1 more
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    Keyword: gentrification, self-care + 6 more
    Genre: drama, movement/physical, political
    Keyword: gentrification, self-care, Political Views, gender politics, Racial Dynamics, addiction, Mourning, Stigma
    A Bikram Yoga Studio in a gentrifying corner of Harlem sees an unlikely diverse community learn to navigate conflicts with their neighbors and search for serenity in their own lives - while the 2016 presidential election looms in the background.
  • hop tha A by James Anthony Tyler
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    4–5
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: class and economic inequality, Depression + 3 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: class and economic inequality, Depression, loneliness, gender politics, New York City
    Tyrone wants to talk. Niesha just wants to read her book. As days and train stops on the A pass them by these two near-strangers -coworkers at a New York nightclub- are pulled into each other’s lives far beyond the confines of their train car.
  • The Drop Off by James Anthony Tyler
    Cast: 
    4
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    Genre: comedy, drama
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    Keyword: Alzheimer's Disease, gambling + 3 more
    Genre: comedy, drama
    Keyword: Alzheimer's Disease, gambling, Black women, melancholy, memory
    At Deer Lakes Assisted Living Facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, Allain drops off her mother Delphina who has the beginnings stages of Alzheimer’s. When Delphina refuses to stay at the facility memories of loss, dreams broken and an impending eviction come to the surface in a way that may break this mother and daughter bond forever.
  • Stewart and Lamb by James Anthony Tyler
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    8
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    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic + 1 more
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    Keyword: Racial Tension, Las Vegas + 4 more
    Genre: comedy, docudrama/historic, drama
    Keyword: Racial Tension, Las Vegas, Video Store, rap, 1990s, love
    The year is 1994. Zack Lawson, a 63-year-old African American military veteran works at Primary Video, a VHS movie rental store in Las Vegas, Nevada. Zack's supervisor is the owner's 25-year-old white son Ian Philipps, who Zack trained. As 24-hour coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder case dominates the news, the racial tension that grips the nation also starts to take hold of Primary Video, and when...
    The year is 1994. Zack Lawson, a 63-year-old African American military veteran works at Primary Video, a VHS movie rental store in Las Vegas, Nevada. Zack's supervisor is the owner's 25-year-old white son Ian Philipps, who Zack trained. As 24-hour coverage of the O.J. Simpson murder case dominates the news, the racial tension that grips the nation also starts to take hold of Primary Video, and when Zack finds out a secret about Ian he uses it to his advantage, ultimately bringing both men to painful realizations. Stewart and Lamb explores issues of race, addiction, and redemption.
  • Talkin' to This Chick Sippin' Magic Potion by James Anthony Tyler
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    5
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    Genre: drama
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    Keyword: mother and daughter, relationship difficulties + 5 more
    Genre: drama
    Keyword: mother and daughter, relationship difficulties, marriage, divorce, sexuality, Hearing impaired, gender politics
    Jornay is a professional cuddler who learns that her new client Ruben needs more than her touch. Through Ruben, Jornay also learns that she must do what she can to repair her relationship with Tiffany, her 17-year-old daughter. Old wounds are reopened when Jornay attempts to get a ticket to Tiffany's high school graduation. Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion explores love, resentment and the...
    Jornay is a professional cuddler who learns that her new client Ruben needs more than her touch. Through Ruben, Jornay also learns that she must do what she can to repair her relationship with Tiffany, her 17-year-old daughter. Old wounds are reopened when Jornay attempts to get a ticket to Tiffany's high school graduation. Talkin’ to This Chick Sippin’ Magic Potion explores love, resentment and the journey to becoming the best version of oneself.