About Me
I wear many hats. Click on them to learn more!
Actor.
“King was sublime, without ego. It was fascinating to watch him navigate Lincoln's increasingly disrupted stasis.” —Austin Chronicle review, Topdog/Underdog
“Jarrett King's performance here is riveting—he has a far more sophisticated understanding of the art.” —Central Texas Live Theatre review, Endgame
Writer.
My plays include A War of the Wolds and Box, both commissioned by Penfold Theatre, and The Possible. I’m a two-time second-rounder at the Austin Film Festival, for my comedy pilot script Fluff and my web series script Zaltana. My poetry and short fiction have also been published in The Sorin Oak Review, Arete, and New Literati.
Educator.
I’m a teaching artist, educational administrator, and Adjunct Professor of Theatre at Loyola University Chicago. I’ve had the honor of teaching students from diverse backgrounds, learning styles, and ages (from 4 to 102). I’ve taught classes in acting, improvisation, writing, and empathy, among others, and am a certified teacher (Theatre Arts EC-12).
My BIO
Jarrett King (he/him) is an actor, playwright, and educator originally from Austin, Texas. His play A War of the Worlds—an afrofuturist reimagining of the War of the Worlds radio broadcast—was the inaugural production in Penfold Theatre Company’s new play commission series and received 12 B. Iden Payne Award nominations, including Best Original Script. Other works include The Possible, Box, and St. Miles, which was developed while a playwright-in-residence at the Goodman Theatre. He is a recipient of Definition Theatre’s Amplify New Play Commission, where his play Frog Splash is currently in development, and the 2023 recipient of Undermain Theatre’s Katherine Owens/Undermain Fund for New Work. In addition to playwriting, he is a two-time second rounder at the Austin Film Festival. As an actor, he has nearly two decades worth of credits performing in film, television, and professional theaters including Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Salvage Vanguard, Penfold Theatre, and the Mary Moody Northen Theatre. As an educator, he has worked as a Teaching Artist at Steppenwolf, Silk Road Rising, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s Shakespeare Slam. He is the Director of Education at Court Theatre (2022 Regional Theatre Tony Award) and an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University.