Genevieve Jessee

Playwright, US

Genevieve Jessee is an actor and playwright based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She received a B.A. degree in Theatre Arts from Dillard University of New Orleans, and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from Boston University. Her work has been staged at PlayGround’s Center for New Works, The Source Festival, Solo Sundays, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival, San Francisco Fringe Festival, EXIT theatre and Those Women Productions. She is the recipient of commissions from PlayGround, where she is a resident playwright, and Planet Earth Arts.  Her awards include the June Anne Baker Prize, Best of the San Francisco Fringe (2012), and Emerging Playwright Award (PlayGround).

More info : www.gjessee.com

The Diaspora Cycle

In the spirit of August Wilson’s Pittsburg Cycle, a body of work encompassing ten full length plays, one for each decade of the 20th century, illuminating the African-American experience. The Diaspora Cycle chronicles generations of a single family originating in West Africa in the 15th century, following their lineage to modern day descendants in the United States, in the form of ten 10-minute plays. The multigenerational saga explores the role of inextricable tradition, trauma and joy across centuries and continents. Each 10-minute play is a stand-alone piece, and simultaneously crafted to be performed as a whole, assembling a full-length play. These pieces may be performed in varying order creating the opportunity to tell this story with a fresh perspective each time, and with significant input from the production team.