Jess Shoemaker

I’m a freelance director, playwright, and educator who has spent the last decade working in classical theatre and new play development. In addition to my work as a visiting professor at Salisbury University, I recently served as curriculum consultant and contributor for All the Devils are Here and the Hadestown National Tour Education Initiative. I also spent five years at the helm of the GRSF Apprentice Actor Training Program, where I developed my own curriculum for training skilled, authentic voices in the performance of classical and heightened texts. Additional credits include 1776 (Bread & Roses Missouri) Maddie’s Fridge and Seedfolks (Metro Theatre Company), Sueño (Webster University), Little Women and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Grandstreet Theatre), Loverboy, Flora Circular, 12 Ophelias, and Tjipeter (University of Texas). My plays include Looking for Ithaca: An Odyssey, The Book of Orpah, (& Medea), and 50 Shades of Shakespeare.

I hold my BFA in acting from Webster University and my MFA in directing from the University of Texas at Austin. When not in rehearsals, I can often be found playing endless games of fetch with my dog, Obe Mayhem.