Leviticus Jelks III

Leviticus Jelks III

Levi Jelks was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2011, he graduated from Clayton State University, after studying Playwriting and Directing from Philip Depoy and The Fundamentals of Contemporary Theatre from Shontelle Thrash. He went on to pursue further study of playwriting as an Apprentice at Horizon Theatre, leading him to a full year internship at The Alliance Theatre in 2013, where he mentored under...
Levi Jelks was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2011, he graduated from Clayton State University, after studying Playwriting and Directing from Philip Depoy and The Fundamentals of Contemporary Theatre from Shontelle Thrash. He went on to pursue further study of playwriting as an Apprentice at Horizon Theatre, leading him to a full year internship at The Alliance Theatre in 2013, where he mentored under resident playwright, Pearl Cleage, and Celise Kalke, the Director of New Projects. In 2014, he was accepted as a graduate student into the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, where he studied dramatic writing under his professor and co-founder of 13 P, Rob Handel and received his Dramatic Writing MFA. He is the Second Place Winner of the2015 Sloan Screenwriting Competition and the co-recipient of the KCACTF Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award.

Plays

  • CALF by Leviticus Jelks III
    Recommendations: 1
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    Cast: 
    1
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    Genre: drama, experimental + 2 more
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    Keyword: African-American prisoner, imprisonment + 6 more
    Genre: drama, experimental, movement/physical, political
    Keyword: African-American prisoner, imprisonment, absent parent, a new life, Ancient Greek Myth, crime, American Dream, prison system
    For Eli Willis, known in his old neighborhood as "The Bull," was sentenced to ten years in prison for the shooting and murder of a neighborhood boy. After being currently released from a decade in prison, Eli, thrust back back out into his old neighborhood and a changed world. Struggling to make a way for himself and while confronting those who were affected by his deed that night, Eli only has one...
    For Eli Willis, known in his old neighborhood as "The Bull," was sentenced to ten years in prison for the shooting and murder of a neighborhood boy. After being currently released from a decade in prison, Eli, thrust back back out into his old neighborhood and a changed world. Struggling to make a way for himself and while confronting those who were affected by his deed that night, Eli only has one goal for the day: to make it to see his son for the first time on his birthday. A series of challenges and a lifetime of guilt stand in the way of that dream. Through various voices, this one man mythic show we explore the pitfalls, dreams, frustrations discrimination and the human spirit of an ex-inmate seeking what's left to him of the American Dream.
  • HYDRA by Leviticus Jelks III
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    6–7
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    Genre: drama, fantasy + 3 more
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    Keyword: imprisonment, Advanced computer technology + 5 more
    Genre: drama, fantasy, political, satire, science fiction
    Keyword: imprisonment, Advanced computer technology, American Racism, African-American family, american satire, Afro-Surrealism, motherhood
    Thanks to HYDRA, a virtual software implanted inside of prisoners, the incarcerated can walk freely among the general population eliminating walled prisons. A pregnant inmate nearing the end of her sentence struggles to keep her faith in this new system.

  • Day of Saturn by Leviticus Jelks III
    Recommendations: 5
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    Cast: 
    3–4
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    Genre: biography, drama + 2 more
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    Keyword: sexuality, coming of age + 8 more
    Genre: biography, drama, experimental, tragedy
    Keyword: sexuality, coming of age, parenthood, drug addiction, suicide, hidden homophobia, HIV stigma, definitions of masculinity, astrology, African American men
    Icarus attempted suicide. It was on a Saturday. These are the realities that still haunt his father, Achilles Jones, one year later as he works tirelessly to repair his run down hardware store before Icarus---who is now away at college---comes home. His plans get more complicated however, when he hires a volunteer to help him named Odysseus, a charismatic young man who smells like the ocean and has a history of...
    Icarus attempted suicide. It was on a Saturday. These are the realities that still haunt his father, Achilles Jones, one year later as he works tirelessly to repair his run down hardware store before Icarus---who is now away at college---comes home. His plans get more complicated however, when he hires a volunteer to help him named Odysseus, a charismatic young man who smells like the ocean and has a history of drug abuse. Through Achilles' recovered memories and Icarus' journal entries, the secrets about his son and the truth about their relationship come to light, asking the question: like father, like son?
  • Planted by Leviticus Jelks III
    Recommendations: 3
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    Cast: 
    3–4
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    Genre: adaptation, comedy + 3 more
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    Keyword: teen pregnancy, African American
    Genre: adaptation, comedy, fable/folktale, fantasy, young audiences
    Keyword: teen pregnancy, African American
    After a night in a van with a mysterious stranger, high school basketball star, Gestine, opens her door and finds a life altering surprise: a potted plant, out of which sprouts a tiny girl and a big problem. This altered perspective of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale finds Gestine navigating the road of teen motherhood, a prom date with the comic book nerd and goals of joining the WNBA. All eventually...
    After a night in a van with a mysterious stranger, high school basketball star, Gestine, opens her door and finds a life altering surprise: a potted plant, out of which sprouts a tiny girl and a big problem. This altered perspective of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale finds Gestine navigating the road of teen motherhood, a prom date with the comic book nerd and goals of joining the WNBA. All eventually leading to decisions and sacrifices that will forever change her pre-planned happily ever after. That’s a lot of trouble for a daughter no bigger than your thumb.
  • A Is For Apron by Leviticus Jelks III
    Recommendations: 6
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    Cast: 
    4–5
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    Genre: drama, satire
    Genre: drama, satire
    After death, Millie, a slave from the Civil War and Violet, a maid from the "swinging sixties," are forced to work in the Otherworld Laundromat for eternity by a mysterious presence known as Mr. Ford. When a modern day video vixen, named Jazzy, joins the Otherworld Laundromat team and the machines all break down, all three women grapple with the prospect of leaving their workplace behind. A is for...
    After death, Millie, a slave from the Civil War and Violet, a maid from the "swinging sixties," are forced to work in the Otherworld Laundromat for eternity by a mysterious presence known as Mr. Ford. When a modern day video vixen, named Jazzy, joins the Otherworld Laundromat team and the machines all break down, all three women grapple with the prospect of leaving their workplace behind. A is for Apron investigates the history of gender and racial stereotypes that Black women face and the connection between three generations made of old dreams, fears and hidden desires.