Directing

Jessica first dabbled in directing as an undergraduate at Yale. She directed Alice in Wonderland in New Haven and then Peter Pan in Italy, using a technique in which the actors wrote the script. Jessica also studied directing at Grossmont College in San Diego. She has been fortunate to assist many talented directors.

A job she loved that was tangentially related to directing was working for Tina Real Casting in San Diego for a year. The company was responsible for the extras and stand-by casting for the feature film Almost Famous with Billy Crudup, Kate Hudson, Francis McDormand and Anna Paquin. Jessica really enjoys matching actors with appropriate and fitting roles.

 

Jessica in Florence, Italy.

Productions with which I assisted

 

  • dir. by Jesca Prudencio, San Diego State University

  • dir. by Rob Lutfy, Grossmont College (San Diego, CA)

  • dir. by Brian Rickel, Grossmont College (San Diego, CA)

  • dir. by David Ellenstein, North Coast Rep (Solana Beach, CA)

  • dir. by Darko Tresnjak, The Old Globe (San Diego, CA)

  • dir. by David Ellenstein, North Coast Rep (Solana Beach, CA)

  • dir. by John Peñate, Teatro L’Arciliuto (Rome, Italy)

  • dir. by Michael Fitzpatrick, Teatro L’Arciliuto (Rome, Italy)

  • dir. by Steve Day, Teatro L’Arciliuto (Rome, Italy)

  • dir. by Priscilla Allen, Pt. Loma High School ( San Diego, CA)

  • dir. by Yale Dramat, Yale University (New Haven, CT)

  • Yale Children’s Theater (New Haven, CT)

  • dir. by Laura Stribling, Yale Cabaret, CT

  • dir. by Robert Lopez, Yale Dramat (New Haven, CT)

  • dir. by Carrie Ellwanger & produced at Le Théâtre Jacques Franck by the English Theatre Company (Brussels, Belgium).

  • dir. by Patrice Mincke at Le Théâtre Royal du Parc (Brussels, Belgium)

 

Plays and Scenes that I directed

  • The House on Mango Street

    San Diego State University, San Diego CA

  • Kiss of the Spider Woman

    (30-minute cut, Bilingual/Spanish) – Grossmont College

  • Taming of the Shrew

    (10-minute cut) – Grossmont College

  • Agnes of God

    (30-minute cut) – Grossmont College

  • A Streetcar Named Desire

    (10-minute cut) – Grossmont College

  • Peter Pan (Full Play)

    Rome, Italy (St. Francis International School)

  • Love Letters (Full Play)

    New Haven, CT; San Diego, CA; Rome, Italy (English Theatre of Rome)

  • Alice in Wonderland (Full Play)

    Neighborhood Music School, New Haven, CT

  • Out at Sea

    (30-minute cut) – Yale University

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Teaching

  • I taught 12 students ages 18-54 and from 7 countries for 12 weeks a course on great theatre practitioners and their techniques. We looked at the work and original acting exercises fro— from Konstantin Stanislavski, Richard Boleslavski, Maria Ouspenskaya, Michael Chekhov, Lee Strasberg, Stella Adler, Sanford Meisner and others.

  • I designed the curriculum and taught high school students various aspects of theatre using Stanislavsky’s methods, theatre and improv games, acting exercises, writing exercises, and the play Hamlet.

  • I taught theatre to international students aged 6 to 13 years old. At the end of the school year, I directed 50 (!) 4-6th graders in a production of Peter Pan that they wrote themselves.

  • I assisted the actress and director Priscilla Allen in her high school classroom theatre and speech classes, and as her Assistant Director for a production of The Diary of Anne Frank.

  • I participated and assisted in theatre classes at this special high school for the arts. I worked with the student actors on games, individual and ensemble exercises and auditions.

  • I taught theatre to the 4th graders at this summer program. I directed them in a production of Alice in Wonderland that they wrote themselves.

  • I went to Juarez Elementary School and other public schools in the San Diego area, and taught drama to elementary and middle school students. We did group activities, theatre games, and Stanislavski work.

Jessica with her student Fabrizio, a professional Italian dubber who was Billy in the Italian version of Billy Elliot and had lead dubbing roles in King Kong and Transamerica.

Acting

In front of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano

Experience

  • Sonnets for an Old Century (Ensemble), San Diego, CA, (multi-lingual)*

  • Measure por Medida (Elbow), San Diego, CA (English/Spanish)*

  • Littoral (The Director lead), Middlebury, VT (all in French)*

  • Spaccanapoli (Colombina lead), Middlebury, VT (all in Italian)*

  • Love Letters (Melissa lead), San Diego, CA

  • Love Letters (Melissa lead), New Haven, CT

  • Man and Superman (Miss Ramsden), New Haven, CT

  • Eleemosynary (Echo lead), New Haven, CT

  • Cloud Nine (Betty/Edward lead), New Haven, CT

  • The Wiz (Ensemble), New Haven, CT

  • Fiddler on the Roof (Tzeitel lead), Lakeville, CT

  • The Sound of Music (The Baroness), Lakeville, CT

  • The Mikado (Katisha lead), Lakeville, CT

  • Carnival (Horrible Henry lead), Islip, NY

  • Oliver Bet, Islip, NY

  • Peter Pan Wendy, Islip, NY

  • Annie Tessie, Islip, NY

Scene Studies in College/University

  • La Máscara de Zorro (Elena), Stage Combat w/S. Swann, in Spanish* (Single Sword), Bronxville, NY

  • Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Martha), Stage Combat w/S. Swann, Bronxville, NY

  • Rabbit Hole (Becca), with Steve Schmitz, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • Hedda Gabler (Hedda), with Steve Schmitz, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • Macbeth (Lady Macbeth), with Steve Schmitz, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • A Lie of the Mind (Lorraine), with Brian Rickel, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • Next to Normal (Diana Goodman), with Brian Rickel and David McBean, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • Mame (Mame Dennis, musical), with Brian Rickel and David McBean, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche DuBois), with Geno Carr, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • The Madwoman of Chaillot (The Countess), with Jerry Hager, Grossmont College, San Diego, CA

  • Uncle Vanya (Yelena), with James De Paul, Yale University

  • Top Girls (Marlene), with James De Paul, Yale University

  • The Middle Ages (Eleanor), with Mark Brokaw, Yale University

  • Laundry and Bourbon (Elizabeth), with Mark Brokaw, Yale University

Arts Advocacy

Jessica loves supporting artists pursue their passions. She thrives on sharing theatre with others of all ages and has done so for many years.

Jessica has mentored artists and taught theatre in less privileged schools. Whether in theatre, music, or other fine arts, Jessica loves encouraging young actors and artists to follow their passions and achieve their creative goals.

Scene from Sound of Music