Jane Denitz Smith

I grew up in the 'burbs of Penna., a landscape I frequently revisit in my work. I lived, worked, wrote in NYC post-college (first professional reading at EST), married and moved to Williamstown, Mass. where our three now-adult children were born. Currently working towards a reading in Hudson, NY of new full-length, My Own Flesh and Blood. (Thank you, Dir. Michelle Joyner!) One-act Our Lady of Broad Street was included in Road Theatre’s Summer 2021 Playwrights Festival. (Dir. Susan Vanita Diol) It premiered at New Perspectives Theater Co. in NYC (Dir. Melody Brooks) and subsequently, was part of Festival de Teatro Alternativo in Bogota, Colombia. Full-length play I Am, You Are, We Were saw a staged reading at Berkshire Voices/ Berkshire Playwrights Lab (Dir. Joe Cacacci), and an early iteration of my musical/farce/drama, The Marrow in the Bone, workshopped at Barn Arts Collective. A partial list of additional credits includes: Capital Region 24-Hour Theatre Project at the University at Albany, the Boston Theatre Marathon, Philadelphia Primary Stages, Curio Theatre (Philadelphia), and Made in the Berkshires Festival. I have also published three YA novels with HarperCollins and a picture book with Workman Publishing, and since 2013, have been a Playwright in Residence for Barrington Stage Company's Playwright Mentoring Project, a collaboration of theater artists and under-served teens and am a member of the Playwrights' Center. 

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website: www.janedenitzsmith.com

MORE ABOUT ME:
I have been a fortunate playwright in many respects: mentored and embraced by extraordinarily talented creative artists. I have also experienced ageism: In my orbit, "new voices" has often been a euphemism for "young voices". Doors have opened, but sometimes, I'm only allowed to step half-way in. How do I overcome disappointment? I move forward. Often, the most gratifying creative times have been the ones that I have created for myself. Whether I'm engaged in a professional production or not, it's the act of creating that moves me forward; I am hungry for collaboration and critique. It's in this communal space that I find inspiration. 

WHAT I'M WORKING ON:
--I'm seeking opportunities to give my two-women one-act The Marrow in the Bone (a serf and an aristocrat on the eve of the Russian Revolution) another workshop go-around, especially musically. --Full-length My Own Flesh and Blood is moving toward a staged reading this winter. --A new full-length about the underbelly of the "perfect" N.E. town, The Village Beautiful, is finding its way on the page. 

KEYWORDS:
​History, Community, Cultural Identity, Verse, Family, Intersection of Past and Present, Epigenetics, Humor