About Me
A Midwesterner through and through, Jennifer was born and raised in Wisconsin and graduated from Saint Mary's College in Indiana. Since then, she has set out to tackle the immortal question, "What can you do with a BA in English?" So far, the answer as been:
- Write an award-winning solo play, Songs Without Words, which received the 2024 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award from the American Theater Critics Association!
- Act on top stages around the U.S., including Writer's Theatre, American Players Theatre, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Forward Theater Company, Third Avenue PlayWorks, Lyric Repertory Company, Children's Theater of Madison, Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, Next Act Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Shakespeare Project of Chicago, Irish Theatre of Chicago, and many others. (Also she's appeared in a few commercials, short films, and a podcast - available on request!)
- Sign with one of Chicago's top acting agencies, DDO, and join the ranks of artists in America's hardest-working theatre town.
- Direct an original adaptation of Medea that Wisconsin Theater Spotlight named a Top 5 Drama of 2018 and was nominated in five categories at the 2019 Footlights People's Choice Awards. Also direct at Flagstaff Shakespeare Festival, Forward Theater Company, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Auricle podcast, and Project: Panic (a 24-hour audioplay festival).
- Teach with First Stage Children's Theater, the Utah Shakespeare Festival educational tour, Children's Theater of Madison, and American Players Theatre's A.C.T. Camp. Co-teach the pilot program of APT's "The Words Between Us," a literature and racial fluency residency for rural Wisconsin high schools.
- Write fiction, feature articles, poetry, and book review that have appeared in Arts Midwest; Commonweal; National Catholic Reporter; U.S. Catholic; America: The Jesuit Review; Wealth of Geeks; Milwaukee Independent; Slippery Elm Literary Journal; Indiana's Best Emerging Poets; America's Emerging Poets: Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; Bridge: The Bluffton Literary Journal; Grab the Lapels; The Baker Street Babes; Wanderher; and The Observer of Notre Dame and Saint Mary's. Learn more here!
- Play violin and viola both onstage and off, because even though she should practice more, she still loves making music.
- Adopt a cat named Felix Mendelssohn and collect an impressive array of seasonal bowties for him to wear.
Fast Facts
Current Home Base: Chicago
Representation: DDO Artists Agency
Union Status: AEA
Music: Viola (20+ years), violin/fiddle, singing, rhythm
Dance: Intermediate tap, jazz, basic ballet
Combat: Unarmed (SAFD-certified); basic dagger, broadsword, shortsword, foil
Improv: 2 years with the Humor Artists; workshops with The Second City and others
Languages: Italian proficiency, Latin (six years)
Miscellaneous: Good with accents/dialects, whistling, speed rapping, valid driver's license, valid passport
Awards/Honors:
2024 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award (Songs Without Words)
2024 Cincy Fringe Critics' Pick of the Fringe (Songs Without Words)
2024 Cincy Fringe Critics' Encore (Songs Without Words)
2024 Green Bay Fringe Pick of the Fringe (Songs Without Words)
2024 Green Bay Fringe Audience Favorite (Songs Without Words)
2024 Saskatoon Fringe Best International Show (Songs Without Words)
2023 Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards
-Nominee, Best Ensemble (Once)
2021 Best of Milwaukee Readers' Choice Contest
-Finalist, Best Stage Actress (Natural Shocks)
2019 Footlights People's Choice Awards
-Finalist, Outstanding Play (Medea)
-Finalist, Outstanding Direction (Medea)
2018 Wisconsin Theater Spotlight Awards
-Top 5 Drama of 2018 (Medea)
2017 Footlights People's Choice Awards
-Finalist, Best Supporting Female in a Play (Coriolanus)
-Semifinalist, Best Lead Female in a Play (Richard III)
Representation: DDO Artists Agency
Union Status: AEA
Music: Viola (20+ years), violin/fiddle, singing, rhythm
Dance: Intermediate tap, jazz, basic ballet
Combat: Unarmed (SAFD-certified); basic dagger, broadsword, shortsword, foil
Improv: 2 years with the Humor Artists; workshops with The Second City and others
Languages: Italian proficiency, Latin (six years)
Miscellaneous: Good with accents/dialects, whistling, speed rapping, valid driver's license, valid passport
Awards/Honors:
2024 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award (Songs Without Words)
2024 Cincy Fringe Critics' Pick of the Fringe (Songs Without Words)
2024 Cincy Fringe Critics' Encore (Songs Without Words)
2024 Green Bay Fringe Pick of the Fringe (Songs Without Words)
2024 Green Bay Fringe Audience Favorite (Songs Without Words)
2024 Saskatoon Fringe Best International Show (Songs Without Words)
2023 Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards
-Nominee, Best Ensemble (Once)
2021 Best of Milwaukee Readers' Choice Contest
-Finalist, Best Stage Actress (Natural Shocks)
2019 Footlights People's Choice Awards
-Finalist, Outstanding Play (Medea)
-Finalist, Outstanding Direction (Medea)
2018 Wisconsin Theater Spotlight Awards
-Top 5 Drama of 2018 (Medea)
2017 Footlights People's Choice Awards
-Finalist, Best Supporting Female in a Play (Coriolanus)
-Semifinalist, Best Lead Female in a Play (Richard III)
photo by Jeff Kurysz