Writing

  • "The power of this cosmic Jarrett King tale will reward an earthly audience's attendance."

    The Austin Chronicle (A War of the Worlds)

  • "Playwright Jarrett King’s ambitious script tackles the power of performance and mass media...an edge-of-your-seat drama probing artistic ethics."

    Sightlines Magazine - “Seven Performance Highlights of 2022” (A War of the Worlds)

  • "An audacious retelling of an equally audacious life."

    The Austin Chronicle (Box)

  • "This was one of the most moving play experiences I've ever had."

    Audience response to Box

Plays

St. Miles

Five years ago, the Ellis family lost one of its members, a young Black man named Miles, to an act of police violence. Now Miles’s mother Opal wants him to be recognized as a saint. As the Ellises navigate the arduous canonization process, the family clashes and battle lines are drawn. Is true salvation on the other side of it all? There are 10,000 saints in the Catholic Church—not one of them is African American. Yet.

Commissioned by Goodman Theatre, Chicago, Illinois.

Genre
Drama

Casting
3m, 3f

Length
120 minutes

Box

Experience the harrowing story of Henry Box Brown, the abolitionist lecturer and early magician who escaped slavery by mailing himself to freedom. Using actual magic, this world premiere by Jarrett King imagines an unwritten chapter in the story of one of history’s most overlooked folk heroes.

Commissioned by Penfold Theatre Co., Austin, Texas.

Genre
Drama

Casting
3m, 4f

Length
90 minutes

Premiere
2023

A War of the Worlds

Both comic and gripping, A War of the Worlds reimagines Orson Welles and his radio troupe, The Mercury Theatre, as a group of Black artists fighting to hold their place at the CBS radio studio. In the hope of securing a critical corporate sponsorship, Welles orchestrates a last-ditch ratings stunt that causes national panic and secures their undeniable – if infamous – place in media history.

Commissioned by Penfold Theatre Co., Austin, Texas.

Genre
Drama, Sci-fi

Casting
6m, 2f

Length
90 minutes

Premiere
2022

The Possible

A play that explores the cyclical nature of resistance and resilience as a weary Black activist watches past footage of himself while preparing for a rally.

Genre
Drama

Casting
1m

Length
10 minutes

Premiere
2020

In Development

Frog Splash

It's 2009. Ray and Fleet are best friends and pro wrestling mega-nerds who own a VHS tape of an extremely rare match. When someone makes them a very (very) large cash offer for the footage, their seemingly unbeatable friendship begins to unravel. A comedy about fandom, myth, and whoop-ass.

Winner of Definition Theatre’s Amplify New Play Commission, 2023.

Genre
Comedy

Casting
2m

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