Tori and Mabelle talk with Jordan Stovall about their role at the Dramatists Guild as Director of Outreach & Institutional Partnerships and the development of the New Visions Fellowship. Other topics include Jordan’s fantastical new play, “Bat Queen!,” the therapeutic emergence of Wanda Whatever, and the societal reckoning around systemic issues in theater.
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Writing Prompt (courtesy of Jordan Stovall)
A Recipe for Joy. Think back on the last six months of your life. Think of a time and place that made you really happy. Where were you when that moment happened that you were really joyful? You may have been alone or with other people. Pick that as your setting. Then find three characters. One is in a mascot suit of some kind, one of them is a circus artist, and one of them is an industrial worker. They are all in this place together, doing something very important to all of them.
Connect with Jordan:
- www.jordanstovall.com
- IG: @wanda.whatever
- https://newplayexchange.org/users/10351/jordan-stovall
- Join the Dramatist Guild and peruse the Resource Directory, connect with counsel, and connect with your community!: https://www.dramatistsguild.com/
Jordan’s bio:
JORDAN STOVALL/WANDA WHATEVER (they/them) is a playwright, arts administrator, queer events producer, and drag artist. They presently serve as the Director of Outreach & Institutional Partnerships for the Dramatists Guild, where they have worked since 2016.
Their plays have been shortlisted and selected as Finalists for the Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Festival and Relentless Award, among others. They have studied playwriting with the likes of Tina Howe, Tanika Gupta, Ola Animashawun, Deborah Zoe Laufer, Michele Lowe, Stefanie Zadravec, and Gary Garrison. Most recently, their play Bat Queen! received a reading from The 24 Hour Plays, and Stun premiered at The Cockpit Theatre (London, UK) after developmental workshops in New York, Maine (as part of the Hamilton Project Residency at Barn Arts Collective), and Florida.
As a drag artist, they are the founder of Time Out London Award-Nominated “Boulangerie: A Queer Variety Show,” and “Fussy,” a bi-monthly ongoing series of queer community gatherings at Dalston Superstore (formerly in residence at The Yard Theater, Hackney Wick).
MFA Writing in the Stage and Broadcast Media, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (2019; London, UK), BA Theatre/Performing Arts, University of Tampa (2011; Tampa, FL). Program Manager for the New Visions Fellowship. Founding Co-Administrator for End of Play, National Playwriting Month. Founding Executive Administrator, Dramatists Guild Institute. Dramatists Guild Committees: Regional Affairs, Best Practices, Festival and Contest Submissions Guidelines, DEIA, PEI, Devised Theatre.
Bookmark this opportunity for the Gary Garrison Award for 10-Minute Plays (via the Tusculum Review)!: https://tusculumreview.submittable.com/submit
Check out the American Theatre conversation between Danilo Gambini and Roger Q. Mason (intro by Jordan Stovall):
Read about the TYA BIPOC Superhero Project in American Theatre magazine:
The Cobra Kai Miyagi Vans hi-tops can be purchased here: https://www.vans.com/en-us/shoes-c00081/vans-x-cobra-kai-sk8-hi-shoe-pvn0a32qgahp