CRAIG JESSEN
PLAYWRIGHT & DIRECTOR

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STAGE PLAYS

 

 

The End of Sex

Dark Comedy (3 women, 3 men)

 

Samantha Braddock has spent her career in the shadow of others. Then, when she accidentally creates a drug that remaps sexual sensation, she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. But as her professional life comes into bloom, her personal life unravels… and the repercussions of a drug that lets you have “sex without sex” begins to make wider ripples than she ever imagined possible.

 

 

Babel Belly

Drama/Comedy (3 women, 3 men)

 

As the son of a pastor, faith always came easy to Cory. But now he’s fifteen and filled with hormones, doubt, and a crippling fear of death. With his father under scrutiny from the church council and his mother bouncing between eastern religions in search of something more satisfying, the only guidance available is from his atheist girlfriend and the church’s devout senior pastor – providing no help from either side. Determined to trade faith for certainty, Cory sets out  to find proof of the almighty, building a message he hopes God can’t ignore.

 

 

Pylon

Comedy (1 woman, 3 men)

 

Connor, Jake, and Mike have a new hobby: stealing traffic cones and putting them on their friends' lawns.  But when Dee finds out, they barter her silence by bringing her along.  As the three boys vie for her affections, they discover that stealing a woman's heart is far more difficult than stealing a cone.

 

2008 Production

 

 

Ladder to the Attic

Drama (3 women, 3 men)

 

Joseph thinks his aunt Margaret was a saint. Her son Richard has a different view. When Margaret commits suicide and leaves no will, the two cousins fight for ownership of her house. As the battle escalates, long buried hatreds become unearthed, and the real war becomes ownership of the past.

 

2005 Production

 

 

Flowers Until Sunrise

Drama (2 women, 2 men)

 

When Ray’s sister Alex found out he stole five thousand dollars from their father, he begged her not to tell. But she did, and Ray was alienated from both his family and his fiancée Liz. So he disappears. Now, two years later, Ray has returned, having spent eight months agitating for the rights of flower workers in Colombia. But as he attempts to win back his former lover and reclaim his old life, his sister may once again jeopardize his chance at redemption

 

 

Yuri’s Songbird

Comedy (1 woman, 2 men)

 

When a struggling New York comic moves in with the woman of his dreams, he thinks he has it made. But when she decides to become a singer, her singing drives him nuts. Soon his nuttiness drives her away, and he must conquer his neuroses to bring her music back into his life.

 

 

Roger and the Cave Monster

Comedy (2 women, 2 men)

 

When socially ignorant Roger gets himself and his socially stupid brother lost in a cave, he nearly scores a double Darwin award. Then they discover a cave dwelling creature... or rather, it discovers them.

 

2007 Production

 

 

Afterglow

Drama (4 women, 3 men)

 

Kent loves his fiancee.  Kent’s father loves his wife.  But they also have their minds stuck on old flames. The night before Christmas Eve, their partners find out.  As cataclysms escalate, the two men discover that while love never dies, sometimes it should.

 

 

THEATRICAL

ADAPTATION

 

 

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Comedy (5 women, 3 men)

 

Frustrated by the constraints and boredom of her unimaginative Victorian home, Alice ventures through the looking glass into a parallel world where stories come to life, and everything is laid out in a giant game of chess.  Based on Lewis Carroll’s second Alice book, this madcap adventure is served up with equal parts whimsy and sophistication.

 

2011 Ashland Production

2011 Los Angeles Production

 

 

ONE ACT

STAGE PLAYS

 

 

Animal Stories

Drama/Comedy (1-5 women or men)

 

Five stories that explore human interaction with animals, including people that try to speak cow, defeat cats, and dream of elephants. 

 

 

Holiday Dram

Drama (3 women, 1 man)

 

Ten years after his father’s death, Will is struggling to keep his life in balance. After a night of cataclysmic decisions, he finds solace in an old ritual his father used to meter indiscretion.

 

 

The Glass Soldier

Drama (1 woman, 2 men)

 

A soldier wakes from an explosion believing he's now made of glass. As his doctor tries to help him overcome his delusion, a former squad mate is determined to make him atone for atrocities committed in the field.

 

 

Time Traveler’s Remorse

Drama (1 woman, 4 men)

 

After a 24th century chronophysicist is betrayed by his wife and partner, he flees to the 17th century.  But when the double crossing duo follow him into the past, his revenge becomes a dish ready to serve.

 

 

Fear of Zombies

Comedy (2 women, 2 men)

 

Zoe – an incorrigible bachelorette who views marriage as a fate worse than death. But when Todd arrives and spins a story about a one night stand with a zombie, he may just prove to be the man for her.