Jeremy Stoller (co-founder)
Jeremy Stoller is a dramaturg who works primarily in support of new performance. He has dramaturged the world premieres of Marin Gazzaniga's The Unbelieving (The Civilians), Peter Gil-Sheridan's This Space Between Us (Keen Company), Ken Urban's A Guide for the Homesick (Huntington Theatre) and Nibbler (The Amoralists @ Rattlestick Playwrights Theater); L M Feldman's A People (Orbiter 3); Paper Canoe's Light at Triskelion Arts; as well as Thomas Choinacky and John Jarboe's Beaut and R. Eric Thomas's Will You Accept This Friend Request?, both at First Person Arts Festival; and the US premiere of Ken Urban's Sense of an Ending at 59E59 Theaters. Additional dramaturgy/literary work with Disney Theatrical, The Flea, Hypokrit Theatre Company, Luna Stage, Musical Theatre Factory, Play On! Shakespeare, PlayPenn, Jewish Plays Project, and terraNOVA Collective.
He is currently the Resident Dramaturg for Miami-based dance-theater company The Pioneer Winter Collective. From 2016 to 2022, he served as the Director of New Work for off-Broadway's Keen Company, where he oversaw the commission (and supported the subsequent premiere productions) of 25 short plays and musical for stage and audio; curated and facilitated six cycles of Keen's mid-career playwrights lab; and guided one world premiere and two New York premieres onto the mainstage. From 2010 to 2013 he served as the Literary Manager at Two River Theater. He founded The Dramaturgy Open Office Hour Project, which has been sharing resources with artists in cities around North America since 2014 and was profiled in American Theatre magazine. Co-founder, Beehive Dramaturgy Studio. He holds a BA from Drew University, and is pursuing an MA in Gender and Sexuality Studies from The City University of New York.
RECENT SELECTED WORK
-The Unbelieving — by Marin Gazzaniga; directed by Steve Cosson; produced by The Civilians/59E59 (production)
-Shanghai Sonatas — book by Alan Goodson; music by Xiang Gao; lyrics by Joyce Hill Stoner; directed by Chongren Fan (workshop)
-This Space Between Us — by Peter Gil-Sheridan; directed by Jonathan Silverstein; produced by Keen Company (production)
RECOMMENDED BY
”Jeremy Stoller was the Director of New Work at my Off Broadway theater company for six years. Throughout his tenure, he made a lasting impact by helping to move the company forward in new, thrilling and necessary ways. He did so sensitively, understanding the organization, how it functioned, and how it needed to adapt - all in meaningful and realistic ways. Jeremy is also the very best of dramaturgs. He has impeccable taste, is an expert at analyzing scripts and is a fierce advocate for artists. Jeremy has an expert understanding of the artist’s process and works diligently to ask questions and give feedback in the ways that are always supportive and catered to each individual. He is also the rare collaborator who can be firm and gentle, all at the same time. This artist-focused ethos extends to producing, as he carefully ensures creators' needs and voices are considered at every turn. Finally, his love of arts and artists is evident in everything he touches. He is a joy to work with!”
—Jonathan Silverstein, Artistic Director, Keen Company
"Jeremy has a terrific eye for singling out exciting new writers and plays. He has taken the time to get to know our aesthetic well so he can tailor his recommendations to work that is fitting for our theater. We have gone on to develop and produce work that Jeremy has brought to our attention. He is also a smart dramaturg and his comments on early drafts of our world premieres have proved to be invaluable."
—Cheryl Katz, Former Artistic Director, Luna Stage
"Officially, Jeremy served as the dramaturg on the New York production of Sense of an Ending, where he was a helpful sounding board as I made final revisions following the play’s London run. He also organized wonderful panels during the production featuring stellar guests. But outside any official position, Jeremy is always my go-to dramaturg. Whether he is helping me formulate material for an artist statement or giving feedback on an early draft of a new play, Jeremy is always insightful, asking the questions that bring me closer to the best articulation of a thought or idea."
—Ken Urban, playwright
"Working with Jeremy Stoller, his objective was clear—to help me write my best play possible. Not what he thought my play should be. Or what the majority of an audience might think my play should be. He strove to bring out what was lying within the existing pages. I knew my story—but I was having trouble with objectivity. And this is where Jeremy went to work—culling from my mass of pages - what I was looking for in my play. Jeremy was very detailed in his feedback, which I really appreciated - and without a hint of personal agenda. You must be open to criticism, yes, if you’re to work with a dramaturg (or in any collaborative environment, truthfully). And if you find the right person, as I had, the experience is very rewarding for the play and one’s growth as a writer."
—Michele Aldin Kushner, playwright
"Jeremy Stoller was a tremendous asset during the workshop production of The Sasquatch Project. He diligently read our drafts and new pages and gave us guiding notes that were never prescriptive and always helpful in diagnosing the root of the problems in the show. He cheered us on when progress was made and nursed our wounds during challenges in the process."
—Scotty Arnold, musical theater writer
"Jeremy was an integral collaborator to my project Beaut (First Person Arts Festival 2011) and has already been a fundamental researcher for my current project of Brecht's Baal. As dramaturg for Beaut he provided insights into queerness and autobiography that were transformational to the arc of the performance, and served as a mediator among the director, myself, and the other performers. His methods deeply investigate the work and push my own thinking into the most complex layers of provocation and understanding."
—Thomas Choinacky, performance artist
Most interesting non-theater job I've done:
Well, it's an interesting aspect of a non-theater job: Working as office manager for a small tech company, I convinced them to start a philanthropy program, and a program where we rented visual art from local artists for display in our office, and brought them to the office for conversations with our staff. This fulfilled some Robin Hood fantasies, and also was an extension of my dramaturgical sensibilities into a different sort of organization.
A great book I read recently:
”4 3 2 1” by Paul Auster
What are your favorite shows that you saw right before the pandemic?
Stew by Zora Howard (Page 73), Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl Cleage(Keen Company)
What do you do in your free time?
Long talks with friends. Read novels. Watch movies. Nerdy cultural things -- readings, exhibits, dance performances [the online, pandemic versions]. Cook, bake. I'm also going to grad school part-time, working toward an MA in Queer Studies.
Favorite script-reading/artist meeting spot:
I enjoy being nomadic, so there are a few spots across the city: Amy's Bread, Cafe Reggio, City Bakery. Pastries + wifi + bathrooms + electrical outlets + charm, not necessarily in that order, are all important.