Jonathan Payne

Jonathan Payne’s work has been produced and developed at Long Wharf Theatre, Ars Nova, Fringe Festival NYC, The Bushwick Star, and the Fire This Time Festival. He was a fellow at New Dramatists, Playwrights Realm and The Dramatist Guild, as well as an Ars Nova Play Group. Awards include the Princess Grace Award, Holland New Voices Award, Rosa Parks Award, John Cauble Short Play Award. He received a BA from the GSA Conservatoire (UK), an MFA in Playwriting from Tisch School of the Arts, and an Artist Diploma Recipient in Playwriting from The Juilliard School.

Jonathan Payne’s work has been produced and developed at Long Wharf Theatre, Ars Nova, Fringe Festival NYC, The Bushwick Star, and the Fire This Time Festival. He was a fellow at New Dramatists, Playwrights Realm and The Dramatist Guild, as well as an Ars Nova Play Group. Awards include the Princess Grace Award, Holland New Voices Award, Rosa Parks Award, John Cauble Short Play Award. He received a BA from the GSA Conservatoire (UK), an MFA in Playwriting from Tisch School of the Arts, and an Artist Diploma Recipient in Playwriting from The Juilliard School.

Scripts

The Choir Invisible

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

At the dawn of the 20th century, a man is put on display, and another is paid to keep him there. Set against the backdrop of a true American spectacle, two lives intertwine inside a cage built from history, silence, and survival. A haunting play about race, labor, and what it costs to be seen.

At the dawn of the 20th century, a man is put on display, and another is paid to keep him there. Set against the backdrop of a true American spectacle, two lives intertwine inside a cage built from history, silence, and survival. A haunting play about race, labor, and what it costs to be seen.

Narrative of the Life of Cedric Bartholomew Written By Albert Lockwood

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

A haunting confrontation with the past unfolds in 1932, as a down-and-out journalist is sent to a remote Southern estate to profile a former slave who’s somehow inherited the land of his former master. As buried truths rise to the surface, what unfolds is a tale of legacy, deception, and the quiet unraveling of a family’s carefully kept myth.

A haunting confrontation with the past unfolds in 1932, as a down-and-out journalist is sent to a remote Southern estate to profile a former slave who’s somehow inherited the land of his former master. As buried truths rise to the surface, what unfolds is a tale of legacy, deception, and the quiet unraveling of a family’s carefully kept myth.

Brother Rabbit

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

On Easter morning, a former preacher digs in an abandoned lot, guided by visions of a seven-foot invisible rabbit. As a masked boy and a lapsed believer join him, the line between myth and madness blurs. Brother Rabbit is a lyrical, unsettling exploration of grief, faith, and the folklore we invent to survive the ruins.

On Easter morning, a former preacher digs in an abandoned lot, guided by visions of a seven-foot invisible rabbit. As a masked boy and a lapsed believer join him, the line between myth and madness blurs. Brother Rabbit is a lyrical, unsettling exploration of grief, faith, and the folklore we invent to survive the ruins.

Addressless: A Walk In Our Shoes

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

Adapted from the original Hungarian production by Stereo Akt, Addressless is an interactive, virtual, theatrical game where you encounter firsthand the complex challenges of housing insecurity. You will make a series of decisions over the course of the game, which include: Will your character sleep on the street or sleep in a shelter? What do you do when you get injured on the job or run into someone you know...

Adapted from the original Hungarian production by Stereo Akt, Addressless is an interactive, virtual, theatrical game where you encounter firsthand the complex challenges of housing insecurity. You will make a series of decisions over the course of the game, which include: Will your character sleep on the street or sleep in a shelter? What do you do when you get injured on the job or run into someone you know from their past? While some decisions might earn your character money, they may also take a toll on your life expectancy and physical wellbeing.

Opal Root

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

It's 1872 and the people of Cascade, Montana, are giving into the fashion and modernization of the era, but Opal Root, a black recluse and lover of nature, ain't havin' none of that.

It's 1872 and the people of Cascade, Montana, are giving into the fashion and modernization of the era, but Opal Root, a black recluse and lover of nature, ain't havin' none of that.

Poor Edward

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

Opal and Eddie are together. Well, she’d call it survival, and he’d call it penance. As night descends, two people grapple for a good enough story to make a new life for each other in this hypnotic, haunted tale of intimacy and survival.

Opal and Eddie are together. Well, she’d call it survival, and he’d call it penance. As night descends, two people grapple for a good enough story to make a new life for each other in this hypnotic, haunted tale of intimacy and survival.

The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll'd

by Jonathan Payne

Synopsis

Karma's foster brother, Terrell, has gone missing, and she's trying to find him amidst the inner city chaos that is The Oblong – but his teacher can't remember his name, his foster mom is still cashing his reimbursement checks, and his ex is glad he's gone. Where's the police, where are the reporters? Karma seems to be the only one who cares, but the more she looks, the more she realizes that in The Oblong...

Karma's foster brother, Terrell, has gone missing, and she's trying to find him amidst the inner city chaos that is The Oblong – but his teacher can't remember his name, his foster mom is still cashing his reimbursement checks, and his ex is glad he's gone. Where's the police, where are the reporters? Karma seems to be the only one who cares, but the more she looks, the more she realizes that in The Oblong, caring only means trouble.