PLAYS IN PROGRESS MENTOR

JAKOB HOLDER

Jakob is a Plays in Progress Mentor. His mentor interests: dark human drama, dark human comedy, magical realism. Request Jakob as a PIP Mentor.

“I am best suited to assist with work focused on the fundamental concerns of – having been born into this world – struggling with the difficulties of being alive. I’m geared toward narratives involved more with exploration of character than development of plot. Work that isn’t easily synopsized, especially that which departs from generally accepted bounds of “realism” (either overtly or subtly), is my forte. If your play wrestles with the complex music of our slippery language, I’m also a good fit.

I am less well suited to assist with work that: conforms to the “well-made-play” ideal, is overtly inspired by headlines or history books, could just as easily work as an essay or a didactic documentary, or would comfortably fit in with the popular TV lineup. This includes: sociopolitical issues, period pieces, historical biopics, and pop culture, unless treated obliquely. ”

JAKOB HOLDER was Edward Albee’s personal assistant for fifteen years and is currently the Executive Director of the Edward F. Albee Foundation. He is also an internationally produced playwright and a member of the Dramatists Guild. His plays have had productions and readings throughout the U.S., the U.K., in Helsinki and Rome. He is a two-time winner of the Last Frontier Theatre Conference Playlab Award and a three-time winner of the NAAA New Play Competition.

In 2009, he was selected to be the sole Cherry Lane Theatre Mentor Project playwright for his play Housebreaking. His full-program plays include: Bedtime Solos; Housebreaking (Dramatists Play Service, 2012); Repeat Play; Green Setting Sun; The Shoulder;  The Open Circuit and To the Sea in a Sieve. His short plays include: One Slip; Darktime in Skipland; Ersatz; Findings; and Sumatra Mandheling, which was published in Post Road #18.  He has led playwriting workshops for children in Alaska, teenagers in Florida, and adults in Finland. 

A resident of New York City, he was a Dramatists Guild Fellow, a Lark Theatre Fellow, and an Oriveden Opisto Resident Artist.